The Story of a Girl
by Serenity Dragonrider
Summary: Serenity tells the Berkians about her childhood with Chris and the dragons.
1. Prologue

**The Story of a Girl**

Prologue

Serenity sat in her chair under her Golden Apple Tree on the little island of Berk. Laying in the Dragonnip were the dragons that made up her family. Ruby was her official guardian dragon. He was red orange with scarlet rhombus shapes down his neck, back, and tail. He also had scarlet wings and scarlet eyes. Laying next to him was his mate Harmony. She was a pure white dragon with feathery wings, instead of the traditional webbing. Laying next to her was Eider, and orphaned, young dragon who was being cared for by Ruby and Harmony. He was purple with black horns and amber eyes. Also laying in the tree's shade was the Dragon King, Re, and Queen Aurora. Re was a handsome emerald green with kelly green underside and ocean blue eyes. Aurora was the Dragon God Draco's daughter, and one of the few dragons that were borne with the gift of magic. She was sapphire blue with tropical blue underside and silver eyes. Laying next to her were their two hatchlings; a teal green and purple girl named Avalon and a red and gold boy named Apollo. Hanging upside down from a tree branch was Re's adopted brother Tenor. He was a Night Fury/Blackfang hybrid. He had the wings, tail, eyes, sonar flaps, scales, and body of a Night Fury. He also had a long, muscular neck, narrow snout, long legs, and black poisonous teeth. Also in the shade was Tenor's mate Windwalker, a beautiful black Night Fury with honey golden eyes. Laying next to her was her and Tenor's daughter Black Widow. She too was a Night Fury/ Blackfang hybrid, or a Nightfang. She was all black with a red hour glass shape on her forehead and red eyes. Sitting in another chair was Chris; Re and Aurora's adopted human son and Serenity's husband. And sitting on Serenity's lap was Edelweiss her year old daughter and Black Widow's future rider.

At the moment they were all listening to Serenity read one of the Draconians' favorite books, Wings of Fire: The Lost Heir. They all had spent the day either playing, flying, or sparing. Serenity had spent the day taking care of sick or injured dragons. But for the moment the hospital was devoid of patients. The sun was starting to set, but Re lit the camp fire so Serenity could keep reading.

Down in the Great Hall the vikings and dragons were eating diner. After a few minuets of just eating, Hiccup broke the silence.

"You know I just realized that we know the back story of every one of our allies except Serenity," he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked Astrid. "She was kicked out of her family at age five, moved in with the dragons, and became the world's best dragon healer."

"That's her life in an eggshell," said Hiccup. "But what about the details? What exactly did her parents do that was so abusive? What kind of mischief did she and Chris get into when they were kinds?"

"You think she remembers all that?" asked Astrid "She was only five years old when Ruby adopted her."

"I want to know how she's able to talk to dragons," said Fishlegs. "That must have taken her along time to learn."

"And some of those memories might be painful for her to remember," said Astrid.

"Still she should have a chance to tell her story," said Hiccup. "Let's go ask her tomorrow."

"Ok," said Astrid. They finished their diner and went home to bed.

The next day all the dragons and riders went up to the Dragon Hospital. They found the Draconians already up and eating breakfast.

"Excuse me Serenity," Hiccup said. She looked up from the book she was reading.

"Is someone injured?" she asked.

"No," said Hiccup. "We were just wondering if you wanted to tell us the story of your life. We know the story of all our other allies, but we don't know yours."

"Hmmm," said Serenity. She closed her book and leaned back in her chair. "Mine is a very long story and frankly I don't remember very much."

"We all remember," said Re. "And I think it's a great idea. No one knows your story except us." Serenity let out a huge breath.

"Well, okay," she said. "You might want to sit down it's a really long story, and please excuse me if I get emotional at some parts." The riders all sat around the fire and the dragons sat around her.

"I will only tell the parts I remember," she said. "The dragons will have to tell the rest of it." She cleared her throat and told them her story.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the southern part of Europe a large farm house sat in a beautiful field. It had three floors, counting the large basement. It was made of brick with a stone roof. There were three paddocks connected to each other. On one side of the paddocks was a large barn full of horses, a cow, and a few pigs. On the opposite side of the paddocks was a large chicken coop. The field the farm was sitting on was surrounded by tall trees in the mitts of which was a huge lake that had a large river running into and out of it. In the house there lived a family of six; a man and woman who ran a rental horse business, their eldest was a twelve year old girl named Rose. She was a very lovely young woman with golden blond hair and sapphire eyes. She already had a boyfriend, a butcher boy named Luis. The next oldest was a brown haired, eleven year old girl named Katie. Her only interest was shopping in the nearby village with her mother, or going horseback riding with her siblings and friends. The third child was a nine year old boy named Thomas. He had sandy colored hair and brown eyes. He and his father worked together to take care of the animals and bring in the harvest every autumn. The sixth and youngest member of the family was a five year old girl named Beth. She had golden brown hair and emerald green eyes. All her siblings had luxurious bedrooms with satan sheets, feather mattresses, and wool stuffed pillows. She had to sleep in the basement where it was dark and spooky. The only light came from a small window. Beth slept on a pile of old blankets that never got washed. Her sisters got beautiful dresses with lace and silk flowers and priceless jewelry, she had one dress that was old, grey, and didn't get washed either. Her siblings had a lot of friends to hang out with, she had rats and bugs to keep her company. Her family only saw her as the family clown, they always mocked and pranked her. They never invited her to do fun things or to even have meals. Her parents said that she was added to the family by a mistake, they only wanted two daughters and a son to carry on their legacy. Beth was more a family pet than an actual member. She only got fed leftovers and was never invited to the table. When ever their father got drunk, she suffered the lion's share of his rage. He would some times hit her across the face for no reason, and the rest of her family just found it funny. Then she would be shoved out onto the porch while they all laughed. She would be left out there until her family went to sleep. Beth certainly did cry a lot, but on the rarest occasion when she wasn't crying she was praying to anyone who would listen for a friend.

One evening her father came home from the tavern, drunk of course. Rose and Katie were out grooming their horses and Thomas was chopping wood. The father looked around the large living room.

"Where's the runt?" he asked.

"How should I know?" asked the mother. "I'm not in charge of it." Then she turned towards the rest of the house.

"Beth come here now!" she bellowed. Beth came up from her basement still wearing the same old, grey dress and covered in dirt and grit. She went up to her mother, shaking like mad. She braced herself, and her father backhanded her face real hard. She fell to the ground and started crying.

"Oh, put it outside," said the mother. "I don't want to have to listen to that."

"Why can't I have any friends?" Beth cried between sobs.

"How many times do we have to tell you!?" screamed her mother. "You only job in this family is to be made laughed at. That's the only reason we're keeping you, because it's funny when you cry. Funny, but also annoying. Now get out of this house before I hit you myself." Beth turned and ran onto the porch, still crying. She sat on the porch steps and cried into her knees. Her face stung where her father had hit her, in fact she was covered in bruises and small cuts from previous hits. She sat there for what felt like forever. Suddenly she heard the whoosh of wings and a soft thud on the grass. She tensed up and peeked over the tops of her knees. And there, in front of her, was a dragon. A tall, graceful looking dragon. He was as tall as a draft horse with a long neck, narrow head, the legs and body of a wolf, huge wings, sharp horns and claws, and a long, thin tail. It was red orange with scarlet diamond shapes down his neck, back, and tail. He had scarlet wings and red eyes. He looked down at her with a worried look on his snout.

"Hello," he said softly. Beth looked confused, was the dragon actually saying hello to her? The dragon walked closer to her, she flinched back. He went a little closer, and lowered his head to her level.

"I said hello," he repeated.

"Hello," Beth said timidly. "W-w-ho are you?" She sniffed and wiped her tears away.

"My name is Ruby," said the dragon kindly. "What's your name?"

"Beth," she said. "Are you going to hit me too?" she sounded scared.

"Heaven's no," said Ruby. "Why would I hit you?"

"Everyone else does it," Beth said. Ruby growled softly.

"Why do they hit you?" he asked.

"Because it's funny," Beth said.

"Well I don't think it's funny," said Ruby. "Do you?" Beth shook her head. She sniffed again, it was quite cold out.

"How old are you?" Ruby asked.

"Five," said Beth.

"Wow, you're a big girl aren't you?" Ruby said.

"I'm smaller than the others," Beth said. Ruby laid down in the grass. Beth stretched out a but and put her feet on the ground. She carefully reached out to touch Ruby's snout. He hesitated as he had never had a human touch him before, but he felt so sorry for this girl that he put his nose into her hand. She gasped and her whole face lit up. She stroked his snout with both hand, and Ruby found it quite nice. He laid his head in her lap. She kept petting him, and even kissed him on the muzzle.

"Hey I think my family went to sleep," she said. "We can go back in."

"Why did they put you out here?" Ruby asked.

"Because it's funny," Beth said. Ruby exhaled and a puff of smoke came out of his nostrils.

"Well do you mind showing me where you sleep?" he asked. "I don't have many friends either." Beth looked down at him. This was a very nice dragon, how could he have no friends? But she got up and looked through the window, just to be sure. The living room was empty, and her way to the basement was clear. She opened the door, which she could just barley reach. She went inside and Ruby followed her. They went to the far corner of the living room where there was a trap door, which was open. Beth went down the stairs and into her basement. When Ruby went down, what he saw shocked him. The basement had a very gothic look with cobwebs and chains on the wall. It looked more like a castle dungeon than anything else. Beth wen over to the corner where her blankets were. Ruby had a nasty feeling that the spot were the blankets were, was originally supposed to hold a dead body. He went over to her as she laid down on her dirty blankets.

"This is where you sleep?" Ruby asked.

"My mother said there's no spare bedroom for me," Beth said. "So I have to sleep down here, it gets very dark and spooky at night." Ruby looked around the room. He spotted an old fire place with logs stacked in it.

"Have you ever lit the fireplace?" he asked.

"I'm only five," Beth said. "I can't light a fireplace. I don't know how." Ruby turned back to the fireplace and shot a jet of fire at the logs. The whole room lit up with warmth and light.

"Wow, you can make fire come out of your mouth?" Beth asked.

"Yes, most dragons can do that," Ruby said.

"Do it again," Beth said excitedly. Ruby shot more fire into the fireplace. Then he laid down in front of the fire. Beth reached under her blankets and pulled out a chunk of stale bread. She got up and went over to the wall near the fireplace where there was a large mouse hole. She put the bread in front of the hole then stood back and waited. A large black rat emerged from the hole. He grabbed the bread in his paws and looked up at Beth, as though thanking her.

"What's with the rat?" Ruby asked.

"That's Mr, Whiskers," Beth said. "He was here before I was, he comes out looking for food and I give him what I can. He's my only source of company down here."

"Rats can be dangerous," Ruby said.

"Mr, Whiskers mostly stays in that hole," Beth said. "He only comes out when he wants food." Mr. Whiskers clamped the bread in his teeth and went back in. Beth went back and laid on her blankets. Ruby got to his feet and stretched.

"Well I better get going while I have the energy," he said.

"Oh please don't go away," Beth begged. "I have never had anyone to talk to." Ruby looked down at her. Then he looked around the room. It seemed wrong to leave her with an abusive family, in a basement that looked like a dungeon, and with a rat that could make her fatally sick.

"Alright," he said. "I'll stay for as long as you want me." He went over and laid back down next to the fireplace. Beth snuggled into her blankets and fell asleep.

She had a nightmare that all her family had come down into her basement. They saw her in her corner and ran over, in pure fury. Her father carried an ax, Thomas carried a pitch fork, her mother carried a whip, and her sister both carried big sticks.

"Alright you little runt," growled her father. "We've had enough of you, and don't even think of crying." Beth jumped to her feet and ran to the stairs to try to escape like a frightened bird. Thomas grabbed her before she made it and dragged her by the leg, back towards the others. She screamed, and cried for someone to help her. But no one came. Then the family began beating her up with what was in their hands, or with their hands alone. Then the father swung his ax at her, fast and hard. But before the ax hit its target, she woke up. She sat up in the dark breathing heavily. The basement was very dark. The fire had burned itself out. She couldn't see anything except the outline of the dragon she just met. She crawled out of her blankets and stood up. She looked at the stairs, afraid that the family would come down any minuet and hurt her. She pinned herself against the wall, whimpering. She began crying out of pure terror. Ruby woke up and looked over at her. He jumped to his feet and went over to her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he whispered, lowering his head to her level.

"S-s-s-scar-r-ry dream," Beth said, still whimpering. Ruby very gently nuzzled her shoulder, and felt her shaking. She then latched onto his snout and held on for her life.

"It's okay," he said softly. Beth slowly began to calm down, she felt safer when he was awake.

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked. "You can keep the scary dreams away." Ruby sighed.

"Alright," he said. "But you have to let go of my nose first." Beth let him go and followed him back to his spot next to the fire place. He lifted his wing and Beth snuggled close to his chest. He wrapped his paws around her, then covered her with his wing and curled around her. Beth snuggled as close as she could to him, burying her face into his warm scales.

"Hey Ruby, can we be friends?" she asked. Ruby considered.

"I don't see why not," he said. Beth smiled before she fell asleep, happy to have found a friend at last.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning Beth woke up still in the protective grip of Ruby, who was still asleep. She smiled, knowing that her one and only friend was still there. Then the dragon opened his eyes and yawned.

"Hi Ruby," Beth said happily. He smiled back at her.

"Morning sunshine," he said. She giggled. She untangled herself from his grasp so he could get to his feet. He shook the dirt off his scales and wings.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked. Beth considered.

"I don't know, there's nothing fun to do around here," she said.

"Why don't we go outside?" Ruby said. "I'm sure we'll find something."

"Okay," said Beth. She followed him to the stairs and up to the living room. The rest of the family was up already and doing their daily chores outside. Beth and Ruby went out into the yard. When Rose and Katie saw Beth they stopped what they were doing.

"You said you could come out?" snapped Rose. The father turned around when he heard that. His face turned red and he slammed the ax into the ground, taking all his anger out on it. Then he stomped up to her.

"You don't come out unless we call you!" he bellowed. "Now get back in that basement before I throw you down there!" Then just as he reached them Ruby let out a loud roar right in his face. Everyone froze.

"What!? A dragon!?" shouted the mother. "Where did it come from?"

"He's my dragon," Beth said strongly. "He's my friend."

"You can't keep it," the father snapped. "Send it away now." Ruby hissed and flashed his teeth. The father stepped back and glared.

"Get away from here devil!" he shouted.

"Make me," Ruby challenged ignoring the racist comment. He took a fighting stance. The father new better than to fight a dragon. So he backed down.

"Just keep yourself and that away from us," he said pointing to Beth. He stalked off. Ruby turned to Beth, who was hiding behind his leg.

"Thank you," she said. Ruby smiled.

"Would you like to go for a ride?" he asked.

"What ride?" Beth asked. Ruby laid down on the ground. Then he gestured to his back with his head. Beth slowly approached him and he boosted her onto his back and stood up. She sat there and looked around. She had never seen the world like this. Ruby walked forwards carefully. He didn't take off due to the fact that she would fall off. He walked around the farm and the two of them watched the family do their chores. Rose and Katie were grooming their horses and were talking about going on a trail ride later.

"So what are their names do you know?" Ruby asked.

"My oldest sister is named Rose," Beth said. "My other sister's name is Kathleen or Katie for short. And my brother's named it Thomas."

"Wow those are nice names," Ruby said. "For such mean humans."

"I wanted a pretty name, but Mother says I can't change my name," Beth said. Ruby thought about that for a few minuets.

"Well what did you have in mind?" he asked.

"I don't know," Beth said. At that moment Rose and Katie went into the barn to get their saddles. Beth and Ruby watched them saddle their horses; a dappled grey mare and a white stallion. Ruby laid down on the ground.

"Can you get off for a few minuets?" he asked. "Please?" Beth looked sad, but slid off his back. He got back to his feet and walked off.

"Don't go," Beth begged.

"I'll be right back," Ruby said. "Don't go any where."

"Okay," Beth said. She stayed put and Ruby went into the barn. Beth went up to her sisters.

"Can I ride with you?" she asked. Both girls looked down at her with disgust.

"No, there's no room for you," Rose snapped. "Go away!"

"Please," Beth begged.

"No!" shouted both her sisters at once. Rose mounted her horse, the white one, and rode away. Katie mounted the grey horse and went to follow.

"I want to ride a horse too," Beth said.

"Well you can't," Katie said. "Now go away." She snapped her reins and galloped off, almost running Beth over in the process. Thomas came out of the barn at with his chestnut horse. When he saw the two sisters riding off, he glared at Beth.

"Why didn't you tell me they left already!" he shouted. He mounted his horse.

"Can I ride with you?" Beth asked.

"Oh yeah sure," Thomas said. "Here I'll put you on the saddle." He picked her up and put her on the horse's back, but then shoved her over the other side. She landed with a loud thud and kicked up a lot of dust. Thomas laughed as he got on his horse.

"Hey Mom, Dad I'm going to go after the girls," he called.

"Okay we'll catch up with you," the father called back. Thomas then rode off, covering Beth in more dust. Beth stayed on the ground, crying. She had skinned both knees and both elbows. Both her parents finished up their chores and went into the barn to get their horses. Beth stopped crying and sat up, but did not get off the ground. A few minuets later both parents came back out with a beautiful black friesian stallion and a golden palomino.

"Can I have a horse to ride too?" Beth asked.

"No, and you're supposed to be in the basement," the mother snapped. "Now get back there where you belong." They mounted their horses and galloped off. Beth laid in the dirt all alone and covered in more dirt than she had that morning. Then at long last Ruby came out of the barn. On his back was a saddle he made himself out of spare leather he found around the barn. It was plain brown with leather stirrups a handle in place of a saddle horn and a leather color with reins attached. The saddle was designed for a human Beth's size and even had a safety harness. When he say Beth on the ground crying and rushed over to her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I can't go horse back riding," Beth sobbed. "And I really want to." Ruby laid beside her and she hugged him, and sobbed into his scales.

"I'm really sorry you're stuck with these guys," Ruby said. "You shouldn't be so abused." He hugged her back.

"Hey have you ever seen a bird fly?" he asked.

"Yes," Beth said, calming down.

"Looks like fun doesn't it?" Ruby said.

"Yeah, they can go places I can't," Beth said.

"Would you like to fly too?" Ruby asked. "It's better than riding horses."

"How?" Beth said. "I don't know how to fly."

"That's okay, I do," said Ruby. "You can get back on my back now." Beth looked at the saddle on his back. She carefully climbed onto his back and sat in the saddle. Ruby used his tail to help her get into the safety harness. When she was secure he got to his feet.

"Hold onto that handle," he said. "And don't let go no matter what happens." Beth gripped the handle as tight as she could. Ruby shook himself a bit to make sure she wouldn't fall off, and she stayed in the right position. Then he took a deep breath and took off. Beth's grip only tightened as she was carried off the ground. Ruby didn't go very high or very fast. He soared over the forest his paws just barely brushing the tree tops. Beth watched his wings move up and down with a whoosh of wind. He glided a few feet before he had to flap his wings to stay airborne. He kept his flight as smooth as he could. When he turned he told Beth what to do to avoid falling off. They flew over the lake.

"How you doing back there?" Ruby asked.

"I'm okay, this is fun," Beth said.

"More fun than riding a horse I bet," Ruby said.

"I've never ridden a horse," Beth said.

"I haven't either," Ruby said. At that moment they spotted the family below on their horses. Ruby swooped down and glided over them. Beth waved at them as Ruby circled them. Then Ruby flew off. Down below Rose turned to her mother.

"It's no fair Mother," she wined. "She shouldn't be allowed to ride that thing."

"She shouldn't be allowed to be happy at all, it's no fun," said Katie.

"I'll do something about her when we get back," said the mother. She urged her horse onward. They went on with their ride. Beth and Ruby flew over the valley. Ruby went a little higher and a little faster. Beth grew accustomed to flying dragonback.

But eventually she was starting to get sore from sitting on hard leather and dragon scales. Ruby headed back to the house and went in for landing.

"Can you land on the roof like birds do?" Beth asked.

"Not today," Ruby said. He landed next to the barn and folded his wings. He knelt down and Beth slid off his back. Her bum was really sore and her legs were stiff.

"Don't worry it'll get better with time," Ruby said, trying not to laugh. "Come on lets go downstairs." The two of them went back into the house and down into the basement. Ruby lit the fireplace and they snuggled in front of it on a few of Beth's blankets.

"Can we do that again tomorrow?" Beth asked.

"Sure," Ruby said. "But probably for not as long. And you should probably know about the animal you're riding. I'll learn you everything I know."

"What will my parents think?" Beth said worried. "They might beat me up like in my nightmares." Ruby hugged her tightly.

"I won't let them hurt you," he promised. "I won't let anything bad happen to you." Beth hugged him back, burying her face into his scaly shoulder. As she fell asleep Ruby looked down at her deep in thought. He had just met this girl, and already he was growing fond of her. He wanted to take her away from that horrible place and take her somewhere where she would be happy. He wanted to take her to his homeland, Draconia, but wasn't sure if King Re and Queen Aurora would let him keep her. The King and Queen weren't too fond of humans, nor was the rest of the dragon race. He draped his wing over her, curled around her, and fell asleep as well.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A few weeks went by. Ruby taught his new rider all about dragons and taught her to ride. He also started to teach her Dragontongue, his native tongue. She seemed to pick it up easily. But the happier she got with Ruby, the madder her family got. They still laughed at her and still hit her whenever Ruby wasn't present. He sometimes stayed in the basement working on his saddle so it was more comfortable. Every time Beth got hit she went crying to her friend. Ruby paused his work and calmed her down. She would cry into his shoulder for what felt like ages. She was covered in so many bruises and so much dirt she could have blended in with the floor. Ruby wanted to clean the dirt off but there wasn't enough clean water around to do so. The dirt was at least a few inches thick on her face. Ruby was surprised she had't gotten sick with all that dirt.

Then one day, a month after Beth met Ruby, the family decided they had had enough. They gathered at the dinner table. Beth was down in her basement, and Ruby was off on an overdue fishing trip.

"I can't stand it anymore," Rose said. "It's no longer fun having that runt in this house."

"I agree," said Thomas. "It's still funny to beat her up, but then she goes crying to that dragon."

"How pathetic," said Katie. "It's really cowardly to go hide behind a dragon."

"Mother, Father what should we do?" asked Rose.

"I'm sick and tired of her wining and cry all the time," the father said. "If I have to here that runt complain one more time I'll throw a fit."

"I say we give the biggest beating in the world then throw her out onto the street," said the mother.

"We should do it now while that dragon is away," said the father. The three siblings got up from the table and went into the basement. They came back up a few minuets later dragging Beth with them. There was a piece of cloth tied around her mouth to stop her from calling for Ruby. They threw her on the floor of the living room where their parents were waiting. The father was holding the fireplace shovel.

"We've had enough of you," the father growled. "We're going to punish you for being friends with that dragon. If you won't get rid of that dragon, then we're going to get rid of you." They didn't hesitate in beating her up. Outside it started to rain. Lighting flashed and thunder boomed. The family beat up Beth for about half an hour, the father used the shovel and the others used either sticks or their fists. The the father grabbed her by the hair and went out side to the street. It had stopped raining and the ground was muddy. He threw her onto the ground and hit her once last time with the shovel before going back inside. Beth laid on the ground covered in mud, blood, and dirt. Her cries were muffled by the cloth over mouth.

Ruby finally returned from his fishing trip. When he saw his rider on he muddy road crying he went to her side at once. He gently nudged her. She looked up at him, a real muddy, bloody mess. When she saw him she hugged his head. He laid beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"What happened?" he asked shocked. "What did they do to you?" In between sobs she basically told him that her nightmares had come true. She also said that she had been kicked out of the family for good. Ruby hugged her tightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Beth," he said tenderly. "But this might just be a blessing in disguise. Now you can come live with me. I will take you far away from here. To a place I know where you won't ever be beat up again." Beth stopped crying when she heard this.

"Where is it?" she asked, her voice still muffled my the cloth over her mouth.

"I will have to show you," Ruby said. He used his talons to get the cloth off. "This place is full of other dragons who would love to meet you. We can go flying as many times as you want, you won't have to sleep on the dirty floor again."

"And I won't be shouted at or made fun of?" Beth asked.

"No," Ruby said. "And I'll be able to take good care of you. But first you should get some rest, this place is quite far." Beth cuddled close to him. Ruby curled around her and draped his wing around her. They fell asleep with in minuets.

The next morning the storm had passed by for good and the sun was out. Ruby woke up, still on the side of the road. Beth was curled under his wings. He smiled down at her, knowing that her life had a chance to change for the better. He gently nuzzled her awake. She stirred and opened her eyes. In this new light Ruby saw just how beat up she was. Her eyes were swollen and unable to open all the way. And if she was dirty when Ruby first met her, it was nothing compared to how dirty she was now. It was caked all over her, Ruby couldn't see a single speck of skin.

"Come on let's get going," he said. The two of them got to their feet. Ruby stretched his limbs and wings. Then he knelt down so Beth could mount him. Ruby had made the saddle more comfortable by stuffing sheep wool and chicken feathers under the leather. She sat on his back and hooked herself into the safety harness. When she was secure Ruby opened his wings and flew off. Beth looked over her shoulder at her old house, where she spent the first five years of her life. Then it disappeared among the mountains and trees. Ruby picked up speed.

"How long will it take us to get there?" Beth asked.

"Oh, a few hours," Ruby said. "It'll be a long time, so try to make yourself comfortable." Beth settled into the saddle as they flew over the mountains, heading for the cost.

The sun slowly crossed the sky as they reached the ocean. While the flew Ruby taught Beth some more Dragontongue. They also looked out for wildlife. Beth had hardly seen any wild animals except Mr. Whiskers and the occasional bird. She looked down at the water hoping to see something amazing. They saw sea birds and schools of fish. Ruby sang her a few songs he knew to keep her from getting bored. She was very entertained during her longest flight yet. And when she did get bored Ruby did a few roller coaster moves to keep her laughing. He also told her about the different breeds of dragons on Draconia; the Whippertails, and the Blackfangs. Ruby himself was a Whippertail.

Then about three hours from their destination Ruby brought up something that had been nagging at the back of his mind.

"Say do you still want to have a pretty name?" he asked.

"Yeah," Beth said. "But Mother said I can't change my name."

"Well," said Ruby. "You might not be able to change your name, but I can. And I think you deserve a really beautiful name. Something like Serenity."

"What kind of a name is that?" Beth asked.

"It means calm and peaceful," Ruby said. "What do you think?"

"Say it one more time," Beth said.

"Serenity," Ruby said slowly. Beth considered it.

"It dose sound pretty," Beth said. "I've never heard that name like that."

"Would you like to have it?" Ruby asked. Beth nodded.

"But why call me that?" she asked.

"I saw the way you sleep," Ruby said. "You don't snore when you sleep. That tells me that you have a very calm and peaceful mind. I bet you've never shouted at anyone have you?" Beth shook her head.

"That also tells me you're not a fighter, and that's good," Ruby said. "So I think that name suits you." Beth smiled at this. Now she had a name that was prettier than both her sisters and meant something.

"Thanks Ruby," she said.

"You're welcome Serenity," Ruby said. They flew onward as the sun began to set.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ruby and Serenity found themselves flying towards a line of mountains two hours later. They passed many other dragons that were coming back from a day at sea. They paid no heed to Ruby and Serenity. They flew closer to the shore.

"Where are we?" Serenity asked.

"This is Draconia," Ruby said. "It's a place that was build by dragons, for dragons. I'm going to introduce you to our King and Queen."

"Are they nice?" Serenity asked, nervous.

"Yeah they're pretty nice," Ruby said. "I've never met them, but I've met other dragons who have." He descended as they reached a set of giant golden gates in the middle of a giant stone wall. In the center of the gates was a crest of a gold dragon with his wings open, his head turned to the right, and in on of his back talons he held a gold music note and in the other a golden apple.

"What's that?" Serenity asked.

"That's the Draconian crest," Ruby said. "The dragon is usually green and he's usually on a blue background. But the Golden Gates are the one and only exception." He flew over the gates and soared over a huge, deep blue lagoon. It was surrounded by tree-covered hills. Many dragons flew over the hills looking for a place to land. Then the flew over a large island right in the middle of the lagoon. There was a sandy beach on the north side and a tiny village on the south side.

"That's Royal Town," Ruby said. "The King and Queen stay there when they have to protect their friends." Then they flew on and left the island behind. Minuets later they saw a huge mountain in the shape of a castle, towering over the hills and lagoon.

"Wow," said Serenity, awestruck.

"That is where the King and Queen live," Ruby said. "That's the Draconian Castle. And that's where we're heading."

"Cool," Serenity said. "It's so big." Ruby circled over the spires that reached for the sky. Windows were set right into the mountain side. Several smaller spires surrounded one really tall spire. Fancy bridges made of marble and gold connected the spires. Ruby circled around the tallest spire and headed for a huge, green lawn on the opposite side from the lagoon. Ruby landed on the soft bluegrass and folded his wings. Serenity looked up at the castle. Now that she was on the ground the castle looked even bigger. The setting sun bounced off its windows, making it look like the mountain had flecks of gold on it. Serenity looked behind her. At the far end of the lawn she saw a huge wall sealed off by a set of silver gates. Ruby walked up to the front doors of the castle. They were the biggest doors Serenity had ever seen. They were made of dark wood and had carvings of dragons all over it, decorated with sapphires and emeralds.

"Is the King and Queen home?" Serenity asked.

"They're always home," Ruby said. "The good citizens of this country come to them when they need their help."

"What are citizens?" Serenity asked.

"The dragons who live here," Ruby explained. "Come let's go meet them." He walked up to the big doors and pushed them open. They swung inward with the lightest touch. Ruby walked into the entrance hall. He had never seen the inside of the castle, only the outside. So he was just as enthralled as Serenity was at the sight of the immense entrance hall. The doors swung closed, throwing them all into darkness. Then the hall lit up with a light as bright as the sun. The floor was made of blue marble covered with green carpets. Suit of dragon armor lined the wall. Above each suit of armor hung an iron basket that held huge glowing crystals. The walls themselves were made of the same stone as the exterior of the mountain. At the far end of the entrance hall was a double curved staircase that led up to a balcony. A set of double doors sat under the balcony. They were flanked by blue flags with the Draconian crest on them. Another set of double doors were on top of the balcony, also flanked by flags. Ruby and Serenity looked up at the very hight ceiling. Two large, gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling, that also had glowing crystals. Ruby laid down so Serenity could dismount. He got to his feet again and they made their way to the double doors, taking in the whole entrance hall. They soon reached the doors and Ruby opened them, and they went into the Great Hall.

If the entrance hall was big, the Great Hall was colossal. A large horseshoe shaped balcony went around the room. It was held up by large columns made of gold marble. The back wall was one enormous window. The floor was made of the same gold marble as the columns. Right in front of the big window was a low plat form with tree steps leading up to it. Four thrones sat on the platform, they were made of marble, gold, and precious gems. Sitting on the thrones were four dragons all wearing armor. The dragon on the far right was the color of desert sand with dark grey and black markings down its back. It wore dark grey armor with a G clef symbol on the head plate. Next to that dragon was a dragon that was a very pretty sapphire blue with tropical blue underside. It wore silver armor with a snowflake made of sapphires and turquoise stones on the head plate. The third dragon was emerald green with kelly green underside. It wore gold armor with the Draconian crest on the head plate. The fourth and final dragon was jet black with large green eyes. It wore black armor with a symbol of a silver crescent moon surrounded by silver stars on the head plate. All four dragons looked up from the conversation as Ruby and Serenity came up to the platform. Ruby gave a humble bow.

"Hello your majesties," he said. "My name is Ruby."

"Hello Ruby," said the green dragon, which was a male. "What can we do for you today?" Ruby stood up and looked down at Serenity who was now hiding behind his leg. The blue dragon followed his gaze and saw her too.

"Oh, hello," she said surprised. "Who is this?"

"This is Serenity?" said Ruby. "I found her."

"Aurora, please investigate," said the green dragon. "You'll probably have better luck not scaring her off." The blue dragon got to her feet and went down the steps. She was slightly taller than Ruby, due to the fact that she was older. She approached Serenity very calmly and lowered her head.

"Serenity, this is Queen Aurora," Ruby said.

"Hello Serenity," the Queen said in her motherly voice. She waited for a response.

"Hello," Serenity said timidly. Aurora turned to Ruby.

"Is she an orphan?" she asked.

"No ma'am," said Ruby. "Her family threw her out, they were very abusive."

"Oh," said Aurora with deep sympathy. "Poor thing." She looked back down at Serenity and smiled.

"Won't you come out so I can see you better?" the Queen asked softly. Serenity looked up at Ruby with a questioning look.

"It's okay," Ruby said. "She won't hurt you." Serenity slowly emerged from Ruby's shadow. When Aurora saw her in her condition she almost cried. The poor girl was caked in several inches of dirt. There were huge red patches here and there, and Aurora got a nasty feeling it was blood.

"Re," she said looking up at the green dragon. "She's hurt." The green dragon got off his thrown and came down the steps of the platform.

"This is King Re," Aurora told Serenity.

"Hi," Serenity said timidly. Re said nothing. He lowered his head to her level. She reached out to touch his snout, he growled softly. She withdrew her hand and backed up towards Ruby.

"Be nice Re," said Aurora. "She's pretty scared I can tell." Re turned back to Serenity. At a closer look he could just barely see many bloody bruises underneath the dirt. He noticed her swollen eyes.

"Hmm," he said finally. "I wonder what she looks like under all this dirt." He smiled at Serenity and let her pet his snout. Then he lifted his head back up.

"Aurora, Alto how about you two get this poor girl cleaned up," he said. "Then get her something to eat."

"So I can keep her then?" Ruby asked.

"You sure you can handle her?" Re asked. "Children can be quite a talonful, especially children of a different species."

"I've been doing fine so far," Ruby said.

"Very well," Re said. He looked down at Serenity. "Would you like to live here in the castle?" Serenity looked up at him surprised.

"Can Ruby live here too?" she asked.

"Of course," Re said. The sand colored dragon joined them and stood next to Aurora.

"This is Alto," Re said. "Her mother and my mother were very close friends. She and Aurora will get you cleaned up and a new set of clothes." Serenity looked at the two female dragons who smiled at her. Then she looked up at Ruby. He lowered his head and nuzzled her shoulder.

"It'll be okay," he said. "They just want to help." Serenity went over to Alto and Aurora. Then she saw that the black dragon was still on his throne.

"Who's that one?" she asked.

"That's Tenor," said Alto. "He's Re's brother."

"Tenor, come down here and saw hello," Aurora said. The black dragon got to his feet and joined them. He looked down at Serenity and she looked back at him. Tenor lowered his head, he tried not to look scary. Serenity carefully touched his snout, and he purred. Then he lifted his head again. Alto ad Aurora led Serenity out of the Great Hall. Tenor and Re went up to Ruby.

"We'll show you where you can stay," Re said. "And you can tell us all about what happened to this girl."

"Thank you your majesty," Ruby said. He followed the two dragons out of the Great Hall and into the rest of the castle.

Serenity followed Alto and Aurora through the halls of the castle. She stayed right on their heels so she wouldn't get lost. The two dragons tried not to step on her. Then Aurora turned towards one of the many doors on the wall. She opened the door and they went into one of the washrooms of the castle. It was one large room made of white tile. There was a large drain in the middle. A shower head hung from the ceiling. Aurora closed the door, which blended in with the rest of the wall.

"One of the many advantages of being able to see the future," said Aurora. "Is I can foresee all the technologies and medicines humans will eventually invent. Then I can tell it to our engineers and they can invent it first."

"It certainly is the ultimate way to help your country," Alto agreed. "I can't imagine what our kind would be like without those advanced medicines and computers." Then they turned to Serenity.

They went right to work. They took her dress of and Aurora burned the filthy thing. Then she used her magic to turn on the water. They washed the dirt off her with a special soap Aurora had that was designed for humans. The dirt took a long time to get off, it was really dried to her skin. While they washed her they asked her questions like; what her favorite color was, or what she liked about the castle so far. She seemed interested in the fact that Aurora had magic. But the two dragons got a huge shock when the dirt finally did come off. Serenity's whole body was all purple and dark red. The whole right side of her face from her ear to her nose, and from her hairline to her her neck, was dark red and purple with black spots. There was nasty looking gash on her right cheek. There was also many large cuts that looked fresh, and infected. To make matters even worse, she was skin and bones. Aurora tuned off the water and used her warm breath to dry her off.

"We should have Vitamin come tomorrow and take care of these injuries," Alto said.

"Good Idea," said Aurora. "Those look really painful." Then she clicked her claws together and a fresh set of clothes appeared on Serenity's body; a black pair of pants and a pink shirt, and a pair of sandals.

"Well that looks much better," Aurora said. "Are you hungry dear?" Serenity nodded. Aurora put her wing around her shoulders and escorted her out of the washroom. Just then they heard the big, front doors slam shut.

"Ah," said Aurora, knowing what the sound meant. "Chris is home." Then she looked down at Serenity, an idea had just come to her.

"Come Serenity, we'll introduce you my son," she said. "I think you'll like him." She walked Serenity out of the washroom and down the hall towards the entrance hall.

"Chis you home?" Aurora called.

"Yes Mama," came a child's voice, he sounded frustrated. Aurora looked at Alto.

"Will you come here please?" Aurora called. The a little boy came down the hall. He wore a red shirt, brown shorts, and leather sandals. He had black hair, dark eyes, large ears, and tan skin. He looked about the same age as Serenity. When he saw Aurora he smiled and ran to her. She lowered her head and he hugged her.

"None of the young dragons want to play with me," he wined. "And I can't play any of their games because I can't fly." Aurora nuzzled him.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," she said. "But I have someone you might want to meet." She lifted her head and looked at Serenity who was clinging to Alto's leg.

"This is Serenity," said Aurora. "She was just brought in today by another dragon. Serenity, this is my son Chris." Serenity emerged from under Alto. When Chris saw her his eyes grew wide.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," Chris answered, waving awkwardly. "Is she going to live here Mama?"

"Yes she is," said Aurora. Chris seemed to like this news. "Now let get you both some diner."

"Where's Ruby?" Serenity asked. "I want him back."

"We'er going to see him now," said Alto. Serenity followed them through the hallways, up a staircase, and down some more hallways. The eventually came to a pair of crystal doors. Aurora opened them and led everyone into a large bedroom. A large window made up the back wall. A large bed sat in the far left corner. A night stand sat on either side of the bed. Hanging on the wall next to the bed a gleaming sword was encased in a glass box. In the middle of the room sat a huge round table. It was made of dark, polished wood. On it was two bowls of soup. Ruby, Re, and Tenor were looking out the window at the city beyond the gates. They turned when the doors opened. Serenity ran to Ruby and hugged his leg.

"Hey sunshine," he said, nuzzling her. When she stood back Ruby saw just how beat up she was.

"Oh my goodness," he said sadly. She had been so covered in dirt that it hid the intensity of her injuries really well.

"Wow you weren't kidding," said Tenor. "They really did give her the worst beating in the world."

"Re would it be a good idea to bring Vitamin over tomorrow to treat those injuries?" asked Aurora. "They look pretty infected."

"They do," Re agreed. "Alto will you send a Hermes Dragon to the Bluegreen Hospital and ask Vitamin if he would bring a few of his Healer Dragons to the castle tomorrow?"

"Yes sir," said Alto. left the room, closing the door behind her. Then Chris ran to Re and hugged his leg.

"Hey how was your day?" Re asked.

"I made a new friend," Chris said excitedly, pointing at Serenity.

"Hmm, that's wonderful to hear," Re said. "Now you two should eat your soup before it gets cold." Serenity and Chris went to the table where their soup sat and began eating it. Ruby turned to Re.

"I didn't know you guys had a human," he said.

"We found him abandoned in a burnt village," Re said. "He was just a baby. After we failed to find him a suitable home with other humans, we brought him back here and raised him as our son."

"I don't understand why humans are so cruel," said Ruby.

"I don't either," said Re.

"But anyway, where did you find this table?" Ruby asked. "I've never seen a round table before."

"It's not just _a_ round table," said Aurora proudly. "It's _The_ Round Table. The very table from Camelot. It's one of my favorite collectables. And that sword is the real Excalibur." She pointed at the sword on the wall.

"Wow," said Ruby. "And you're using it as a dining room table?"

"Sure," said Aurora. "It's not like I plan to sell it or anything. Normally it would be in the museum with the other artifacts, but it seems to fit in this room just fine. I put the sword next to it because they both came from the same place."

"This is where you and Serenity will be staying," Re said. Ruby looked surprised.

"You're giving us this zillion dollar table?" he asked.

"Problem?" asked Aurora. "The table's meant to be used, not just looked at."

"Thank you your majesties," said Ruby. The dragons looked back to the two children as they finished their soup. They were talking in between bites.

"Mama says real knights sat around this table," Chris said. "They had their feasts and planned all their war stuff." Serenity finished her soup.

"That's really cool," she said.

"Have you heard The Sword in the Stone?" Chris asked.

"No," Serenity said.

"Mama reads a little bit to me every night," Chris said. "It's one of my favorites. It's about when a boy named Arthur pulled that sword out of a rock and became king." He pointed to the sword on the wall.

"I can never remember the name of the sword though," he went on.

"How can a sword have a name?" Serenity asked. "It's not like you can call its name and expect it to come to you."

"Mama says they gave the sword a name because..." Chris stopped, thinking. "Mama whys does the sword have a name?"

"Because it's a magic sword," said Aurora. "That's why all those knights couldn't pull it out of the rock, because it knew none of those knights were worthy to be king."

"The sword is alive?" asked Serenity.

"In away," said Aurora. "The sword can't move until you move it of course, but when you do move it, it might decide to be really heavy or really light. It might be burning hot when you touch the blade, or ice cold. It can also kill things that a normal sword can't even cut, like an evil ghost or a walking skeleton, or a zombie." She saw the confused look on Serenity's face.

"You will learn about all this later," said Aurora. "But first you should rest."

"But I wanted to show her the museum," said Chris. "We have real Dinosaur bones, and a fossilized Wooly Mammoth."

"You can show her those things tomorrow," said Re. "After she gets checked out by Vitamin." Chris looked disappointed.

"Don't worry Chris," said Aurora. "She's going to be living with us so you'll have plenty of time to play with her. Now lets go upstairs and I'll read some more of Sword in the Stone."

"Okay," Chris said. He got up from the table and left the room. Aurora turned to Ruby.

"Thanks for bringing her," she said. "Now Chris won't be so lonely."

"My pleasure my queen," said Ruby. Aurora clicked her talons and a white night gown appeared on the bed for Serenity. Then she, Re, and Tenor left the room. The sun was almost out of sight. Serenity changed into the night gown. She climbed into the large bed and Ruby tucked her in. She laid on her left side, as it hurt to sleep on her right. Ruby laid beside the bed and laid his head down. They both fell right to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The following morning Serenity and Ruby woke up. Serenity got out of bed just as a knock came on the door.

"It's open," Ruby called getting to his feet. The door opened and Alto came in.

"Vitamin just arrived," she said. "He brought three of his best Healer Dragons with him."

"Good," said Ruby. "I'll feel better when these injuries are taken care of." Alto went out to get the Healer Dragons.

"What are they going to do?" Serenity asked. Ruby heard the fear in her voice.

"They're going to treat those cuts and bruises you have," Ruby said. "It's nothing to be scared of." Then four dragons entered the room. They looked like large Utahraptors with wings and no oversized claw. The one in the front was white with a wide mint blue stripe down his head, neck, back, and tail. He also had mint blue eyes.

"Hello," he said in a friendly tone. "I'm Vitamin."

"Hello, I'm glad you're here at last," said Ruby.

"Yeah, when Alto contacted me last night she said this girl had been beaten black and blue," said Vitamin. "These are the Healer Dragons I always bring with me on cave calls. This is Advil, Aspirin, and Tylenol." Advil was ocean blue with yellow wings and eyes, Aspirin was mint green with white wings, and Tylenol was red with dark pink wings. They all were carrying medical equipment. Ruby looked down at Serenity who was still in her night gown. The Healer Dragons followed his gaze. Advil gasped.

"Oh, look at her Vitamin," she said sadly. "She's really hurt bad."

"Poor thing," said Vitamin. He lowered his head to her level. "Hello Serenity."

"Hi," Serenity said. She carefully approached him and touched his snout. Vitamin looked closer at the gash on her face. He tutted.

"Would you like up to make those hurts go away?" he asked. Serenity nodded. The Healer Dragons had arms that were separate from their wings, so Vitamin was able to lift Serenity onto the table so he could examine her. Ruby stayed close to his ward. The Healer Dragons set their equipment on the table and unloaded their supplies. Vitamin went to work examining Serenity's injuries. Her night gown didn't have sleeves so he could look at the bruises and cuts on her arms and shoulders. She stayed very still as Vitamin did his work.

"Well these are all infected I'm afraid," he said after a while. He looked at the gash on her cheek. "What was she hit with?"

"A fireplace shovel," said Ruby.

"Wow," said Vitamin. "That's a lot of damage." Then he felt her forehead.

"I'm I going to die?" Serenity asked.

"No you're not," Vitamin said. "You're going to be just fine, but you have a slight fever. And this needs stitches." He indicated the big gash on her cheek. "Advil will you clean these other bruises while I get the sewing supplies out?" Advil nodded and took his place. She got out a bottle of disinfectant and a cloth.

"This my hurt a bit," she said gently. She put some of the disinfectant on the cloth. Then she gently dabbed at a cut on her shoulder. Serenity instantly began to tear up, it did hurt. Advil talked to her while she worked. She dabbed at each cut and bruise with the disinfectant. She put Bandaids on the cuts. Soon she was done and Vitamin had his equipment ready to treat the gash on her face. He held a syringe needle in his hand. Serenity looked at it, scared.

"Ruby, you might want to hold on to her for this process," Vitamin said. Ruby came over and hugged Serenity with his wings. She wormed closer to him, still looking at the needle. Vitamin took a piece of gauze that was soaked in rubbing alcohol and spread the stuff on a patch of skin on her right shoulder, just above one of the Bandaids. Then put the gauze down and took the cap off the needle.

"I need you to hold really still okay?" said Vitamin. "You can close your eyes if want." Serenity shut her eyes and buried her face into Ruby's shoulder. Ruby held her tightly. Then he nodded at Vitamin. Serenity suddenly felt a stinging on her shoulder and tensed up.

"It's okay," Ruby whispered gently. "You doing great." The sting got worse, and Serenity started crying.

"You're okay," said Vitamin. "You're okay, see? I'm all done." Serenity opened her eyes and saw that Vitamin was putting the needle away. Ruby licked her tears way.

"That's going to stop you from getting sick," Vitamin explained. "Now I can get to work on that." He pointed to her face. But she hid her face behind Ruby's shoulder. He nuzzled her gently.

"He's going to give you something so it won't hurt," he whispered. "You don't have to be afraid, and I'll be right here the whole time." He gave her a gentle squeeze. Serenity gave a huge, shaky breath. She showed her face to Vitamin. He pulled out a bottle of anesthetics and put some on another cloth. He very gently dabbed at the gash. It hurt Serenity, but then her whole face went numb. Then Vitamin pulled out his needle and thread. Serenity closed her eyes again and rested her head on Ruby's shoulder. He held her as tight as he could without getting in Vitamin's way. The Healer Dragon got right to work sewing up the gash. Serenity began whimpering into Ruby's scales. He whispered to her softly to keep her calm. Then before she knew it, Vitamin was finished.

"Okay, all done," he announced. Serenity opened her eyes and sat up. Vitamin put the needle away and pulled out a thick piece of gauze. He taped it over the stitches.

"You did very well Serenity," Vitamin said. "Do me one more favor, close your eyes and open you mouth." Serenity did as she was told, and something was put in her mouth that was hard, and sweet. She opened her eyes and felt was in her mouth. She felt a stick, she pulled on the stick and pulled out a large red sphere, attached to the stick. She looked at it then put the sphere back in her mouth.

"Aren't you going say thank you?" Ruby asked softly.

"Thank you," Serenity said.

"You welcome," said Vitamin. He carefully lifted her up and put her back on the ground. The Healer Dragons cleaned up their supplies.

"What is this thing?" Serenity asked grasping the stick again.

"A Lolli pop," said Vitamin. "Queen Aurora said human doctors will give them to children who braved a needle, sort of a way to say sorry for scaring you."

"Oh," Serenity said, interested. Vitamin then turned to Ruby.

"Even though I gave her the medicine she may still get feverish," he said. "So have lots of water on standby as well as this." He put a bottle of pink liquid on the table. "Instructions are on the label," Vitamin said.

"Thank you," Ruby said.

"I'll come check on her in about two weeks," Vitamin said.

"Will she have a scar?" Ruby asked. Vitamin nodded.

"A faint one," he said. "But it's nothing to worry about." He and his fellow healers finished packing up. They said good bye and left after Ruby thanked them again. When they were gone he turned back to Serenity.

"How about you get dressed?" he said. "Then you can go play with Chris."

"He's a lot of fun," said Serenity. She went over to the set of clothes she wore the day before. She quickly got dressed while Ruby put the medicine on one of the nightstands. When she was dressed Ruby laid on the floor so she could get on his back. He got to his feet and went out to the hallway. He trotted down the hall heading for the Great Hall.

They found the King and Queen sitting in their thrones with Tenor and Alto. They were talking among themselves. They looked up when Ruby and Serenity came in.

"Hey," said Re happily. "Did you guys sleep okay?"

"Yes thank you," said Ruby. Re and Aurora got off their thrones and came down the steps. When they saw Serenity they smiled.

"You're looking better," said Aurora. "Did Vitamin give you that Lolli pop?" Serenity nodded.

"Where's Chris?" she asked.

"He's in the Castle Library," said Aurora. "I told him to wait there until you were done getting fixed. I'll take you to him if you want." Serenity looked down at Ruby. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Okay," said Serenity. Both Aurora and Ruby laid down. Serenity got off Ruby and onto Aurora. The Queen got to her feet.

"I'll come find you when it's time for bed," said Ruby. Aurora walked out of the Great Hall and up through the castle. Serenity kept sucking on her Lolli pop, it as beginning to get smaller. Soon Aurora came to a large door that looked like the cover of a book. Aurora used her magic to open the door. She walked into the huge library. The room was very tall and very well lit. The wall was literally made of bookcases. And where there wasn't bookcases, there was tall, narrow windows. In the middle of the room was a few circles of armchairs surrounding a coffee table. In one of the corners was a cozy looking fireplace with bean bags in front of it. Chris was sitting in one of the bean bags reading on of the many books the library had.

"Chris," Aurora said. "Serenity's done." Chris looked up from his book. Aurora knelt down and Serenity slid off. Chris got to his feet and hugged his book.

"What are you reading?" Serenity asked.

"Robin Hood," said Chris. "Mama can get a hold of books that won't be written for centuries, and they're all held in this library." Aurora turned to leave.

"You mentioned Dinosaur bones yesterday," said Serenity.

"Yeah, humans haven't discovered Dinosaur bones yet," Chris said. "I'll show you them, then I'll show you my room. The floor is made of real gold and the walls are made of ivory."

"Chris, it's not nice to brag," said Aurora.

"Yes Mama," said Chris. With that Aurora left. Chris turned to Serenity.

"Have you ever read a book?" he asked. Serenity shook her head.

"I had to sleep in the basement, there were't any books," she said.

"But you can read right?" said Chris. "Mama taught me to read when I was four, she used her magic to cheat a little bit. But now I can all these books." He gestured to the towering bookshelves.

"No I can't read," said Serenity sadly.

"Oh, that's okay," Chris said. "I'll teach you all Mama's tricks, you'll be reading in no time." He went over to a lower shelf near the fireplace and pulled out a book. He came back over and handed it to Serenity. It had a picture of a goose on it.

"This is the book I learned to read out of," Chris said. "It's called Mother Goose Stories. I find it boring now, but it's a good one for beginners."

"Can we see the Dinosaur bones first?" Serenity asked, hugging the book.

"Sure, we can read that in my room," Chris said. "I love reading, with so many books in the world there's no end to adventure." He picked up Robin Hood, he also picked up another book with a skull and crossbones on it.

"What's that one?" asked Serenity.

"Treasure Island," Chris said. "I plan to read it next. Mama says we can take these books out of the library as long as they get put back, and we can't take them out of the castle."

"Okay," said Serenity.

"Now let's go see those Dinosaur bones," Chris said. He led her out of the library and through the castle. They went down more hallways and up a few staircases. They crossed one of the bridges and into a huge round room with a beige carpet on the floor. Serenity's eyes popped when she saw the towering skeleton of a T-Rex. It looked down at her with empty eye sockets. Its mouth was propped open.

"Wow, look at those teeth," Serenity said. "That thing's even bigger than the dragons."

"That's a T-Rex," said Chris. "Dinosaurs were like dragons, except they couldn't breathe fire. They died long ago, leaving only their bones behind. Mama says dragons used to hunt Dinosaurs. But then the dragons had to find a safe place to go to escape the mass extinction that the Dinosaurs faced. The Dragon God Draco, he made all the dragons, led his kind into the sea. After the Dinosaurs were wiped out the dragons crawled back onto land, and they emerged here on Draconia. Draco had found it just before the Dinosaurs were wiped out. They've lived here ever since."

"Wow," said Serenity. "What other kinds of Dinosaurs were there?"

"I'll show you," Chris said. "There were many different kinds of Dinosaurs, just like there are many different kinds of dragons." He led her around the T-Rex and headed to a ramp that went to the floor below. There they found more Dinosaur skeletons. Chris showed her the really long Supersaurus, the really huge Stegosaurus, the mean-looking Triceratops, and the fast-looking Utahraptors. He told all he knew about each and every Dinosaur. He also showed her fossils of Ice Age animals; such as the Wooly Mammoth and the Sabertooth Tiger. There was also fossils of ancient fish and other sea creatures. He told her how each of these animals paid a big roll in the lives of dragons. They came to one room where they saw another T-Rex fossil in a fight with the fossil of a dragon.

"That dragon fossil isn't real bone," Chris said. "It's made of something called plastic. Dragons don't leave behind their bones like Dinosaurs do. When dragons die they turn into golden stardust and Draco brings them up to the Dragon Heaven, bones and all."

"Draco has magic like Aurora?" Serenity asked.

"She got her magic from Draco," said Chris. "Draco has the power to do whatever he wants. He mostly uses his magic for the good of the dragon race, and occasionally for other animals."

"I wish I had magic," said Serenity.

"Yeah that would be really cool," Chris agreed. "Come on I'll show you my room, it has a tower. And we can start you on Mother Goose." He led her up to the floor above and the went back into the main castle. Chris led Serenity clear to the other side of the castle and across another bridge to a large blue door. It had a gold door handle in the shape of an eastern dragon.

"This is my room," Chris said. He opened the door and they entered a large round room. It was a bit smaller than Serenity's room. A large bed was facing the door. It had a blue and green bedspread. The wall behind the bed was again, a large window. The floor was made of solid gold tile, covered by green rugs. To the right of the door was a small staircase that curved up to to a loft, making the ceiling of the room. Chris went up the stairs to the loft, and Serenity followed him. The loft was slightly smaller than the room bellow. A large window made up the entire wall. A large bean bag sat in the middle on a round rug that had the Draconian crest on it. There was a glass door that led out onto a balcony that ran around the outside of the tower.

"Wow, you have two rooms?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah," said Chris. "But it's nowhere near as cool as Mama and Daddy's room, it's all windows." He ran over and jumped onto the bean bag. Serenity joined him with her book and her sucker still in her mouth.

They sat in the bean bag all day, Chris began teaching Serenity how to read Mother Goose. She caught on very quick. Chris showed her all the tricks that Aurora used when she was teaching him to read. She also grew to love Mother Goose and read all the stories in the book. They didn't even notice that the sun was ready to set. Suddenly Serenity didn't feel good. Her head hurt, and felt heavy.

"I think I should go find Ruby," she said. "I don't feel good."

"Oh, okay," said Chris. "You probably have stomach flu. I had that once it took me a week to get better from it." Serenity got off the bean bag slowly. She felt dizzy as she stood up. She turned to go, but suddenly doubled over clutching her tummy. She coughed and threw up all over the floor. Chris jumped to his feet, putting his book down. Serenity finished emptying her stomach of last night's soup and stood up.

"Wait here I'll go get help," Chris said. He ran downstairs and out the door. Serenity laid back down on the bean bag, she felt terrible. She laid her head down and drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chris ran through the castle as fast as he could. He began calling for his parents and looking for any form of help. Then he finally spotted his mother near the library.

"Mama!" he cried. "We need your help!" Aurora turned and lowered her head.

"What happened? What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"There's something wrong with Serenity," Chris said, panting. "She threw up." Aurora became alert.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"In my room," said Chris. Aurora knelt down and he quickly mounted her. Aurora ran back through the castle towards Chris's room. It took her only a few minuets. She opened the door and ran up the stairs to the loft. Chris dismounted without waiting for her to kneel down. Aurora immediately saw the puddle of vomit on the floor. She used her magic to clean it up. Then she saw Serenity laying on the bean bag not moving. Aurora went over and carefully nudged her.

"Serenity?" she whispered softly. Serenity opened her eyes, just a little bit.

"Where's Ruby?" she asked, her voice weak.

"I'll go find him," Aurora said. "Are you not feeling well?" Serenity just nodded and went back to sleep. She heard Aurora walk back towards the stairs.

"You stay here," she said. "I'm going to go find Ruby. Here take this incase she throw's up again."

"Yes Mama," said Chris. Aurora left the room as fast as she could. Serenity heard Chris come over to her and put something beside her head. She opened her eyes to see a spittoon next to the bean bag. Serenity guessed the Queen conjured it up using magic. She closed her eyes again, wishing Ruby were there now. She drifted in and out of consciousness for what felt like decades. She felt hot and exhausted and her head throbbed. She threw up once, right into the spittoon. It wasn't pleasant and only made her feel worse. She fell asleep shortly afterwards.

"Serenity?" said an all too familiar voice. She felt a scaly muzzle on her hand. She opened her eyes and saw Ruby looking at her with a worried look on his face.

"Ruby?" she whispered.

"I'm right here sweetheart," Ruby answered. "Would you like to go back to our room?" Serenity gave him a small smile. She slowly sat up and hugged his head. She was so happy he was there.

"I don't feel good," she whispered.

"I know you don't," said Ruby. "You think you can walk?"

"I don't know," said Serenity. "Last time I did that I threw up."

"Just take it slowly," said Ruby. Serenity held onto him and he helped her to his feet. When she was standing, her head started hurting again and she started to wail.

"Why are you crying?" Ruby asked.

"My head hurts," Serenity sobbed.

"It'll go away," Ruby said. "Aurora's going to give you a ride to our room where you can lay down." He carefully walked over to where the Queen waited. Ruby gently eased her onto Aurora's back and laid her on the Queen's shoulders. Then he stood back. The Queen carefully got to her feet. Serenity began to panic when she no longer felt Ruby's scales.

"Ruby! Ruby where are you?" she cried.

"I'm right here," said Ruby. He nuzzled her hand to let her know he was still there. She put her hand on his muzzle. They started moving out of the room. Chris stayed where he was, as it was almost his bedtime anyway.

It was a long walk through the castle. Aurora kept her walk slow and smooth so she would't cause Serenity pain. While they walked Aurora talked with Ruby.

"She probably got sick from her infected injuries," Aurora said.

"Yes, Vitamin warned me that would happen," said Ruby. "He gave me a remedy."

"I think it was very nice of you to answer this poor girl's cry," said Aurora.

"Re said you guys did the same thing with that boy," said Ruby.

"Yes," said Aurora. "It was very shocking to find a little baby all alone and homeless. But I don't know if that shocks me more or less than a little, innocent girl getting beaten with a shovel." Ruby flinched.

"I feel so bad for her," Aurora continued. "Chris was at least was uninjured when we found him."

"I wish I had been there to stop it," Ruby said painfully. "That day will haunt me forever."

"You did the right thing Ruby," said Aurora. "And I'm very happy you brought her here." They had just arrived at the door of Serenity's and Ruby's room.

"What if something were to happen to me?" Ruby asked. "I don't want her to be alone."

"Don't worry Ruby," said Aurora. "If anything happens to you we'll make sure she's not alone."

"Thank you my Queen," said Ruby. They went over to the bed and Aurora carefully knelt down. Ruby turned his attention back to his ward. He gently roused her.

"Serenity we're here," he whispered. She opened her eyes. Ruby let her lean on him as she slid off Aurora's back. Ruby guided her to the bed and laid her down on it. He pulled the blankets around her, tucking her in. Aurora conjured up another spittoon. She put it on the bedside table.

"Call me if you need any help," Aurora said. "I have experience in care for a sick human child."

"Thank you your majesty," said Ruby. "But she's my responsibility, I'll take care of her. I have all I need."

"I understand," said Aurora. "Keep me posted at least."

"Yes ma'am," said Ruby. Aurora left and Ruby got to work on his ward. He vowed never to rest until she was on the mend.

Ruby stayed up all night with Serenity. He woke her up every once in a while to make her drink water and take the medicine as the label instructed. Her fever increased and she kept throwing up. Around midnight Serenity had a terrible nightmare, half because of her fever and half because of her past. She was getting beaten my her family again. Her father kept hitting her with the fireplace shove, repeatedly. But instead of throwing her into the street, she was thrown into the lake where her family drowned her. The mother dunked her into the water and every time she came up the father hit her with the shovel. Then they were about to go in for the kill when she woke up screaming.

"Ruby! Are you there!" she sobbed. Ruby was at her side in seconds.

"I'm right here Serenity," he said. "Are you okay?"

"I had a scary dream," Serenity wailed. Ruby felt her forehead using his muzzle. She was still burning up with fever. Serenity hugged him and cried into his scales. He hugged her tightly with his wings.

"It's okay," he whispered softly. "It's okay, it was only a dream. It's over now." She continued to cry. She cried so hard that she had to cough to clear her airway. Ruby scooped her up in his wings and went to the floor next to the window. He laid down and held her to his chest. He could feel her fever on his scales. He began to hum softly to her, rocking her back and forth. He began to sing her a lullaby.

_Dream by night_

_Wish by day_

_Love begins this way._

_Loving starts_

_When open hearts_

_Touch, and stay._

_Sleep for now_

_Dreaming's how_

_Lover's lives are planned._

_Future songs_

_And flying dreams,_

_Hand, in hand._

_Love it seems_

_Made flying dreams_

_So hearts, could soar._

_Heaven sent_

_These wings were meant_

_To prove, once more._

_That love is the key..._

_Love is the key._

_You and I_

_Touch the sky_

_The eagle and the dove._

_Nightingales_

_We keep our sails_

_Filled with love._

_And love it seems_

_Made flying dreams,_

_To bring you home to me..._

_Love it seems_

_Made flying dreams_

_So hearts, could soar._

_Heaven sent_

_These wings were meant_

_To prove, once more._

_That love is the key..._

_Love is the key._

_You and I_

_Touch the sky_

_The eagle and the dove._

_Nightingales_

_We keep our sails_

_Filled with love._

_Ever strong_

_Our future song,_

_To sing it must be free._

_Ev'ry part_

_Is from the heart,_

_And love is still the key._

_And love it seems_

_Made flying dreams_

_To bring you home_

_To me.._

The song worked its magic and Serenity fell asleep. She snuggled close to Ruby, not wanting to let go. She now knew that no matter how many scary things there were, as long as Ruby was there she was safe and sound.

"I love you Ruby," She whispered just before she feel into a deeper sleep. Ruby looked down at her.

"I love you too Serenity," he whispered in her ear. "I love you so much." With that he curled around his ward and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ruby woke up the following morning. He checked on Serenity right away. He was pleased to find that she was feeling much better. Her fever was all but gone and she no longer looked like she was in any pain. She looked up at him with her beautiful green eyes and gave him a big smiled.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better," said Serenity. "Can I go play with Chris today? He was teaching me to read." This news pleased Ruby.

"That's wonderful to hear," he said. "But you should wait until tomorrow, just to be safe." Serenity looked disappointed. Ruby slowly got to his feet and went to get her some more water. She stood up as well and went back over to the bed. Ruby came back with a goblet of water and the bottle of medicine. Serenity sat on the bed while Ruby opened the bottle.

"How many times to I have to drink that?" Serenity asked.

"Until it's all gone," Ruby said. "There's not very much, I reckon today will finish it off." Serenity swallowed the spoonful of medicine than drank the water to wash the taste out. She then laid her head on the pillow. Ruby put the blankets over her.

"You can go out and play tomorrow," he said. "I promise." Serenity gave him a smile. The medicine started to make her drowsy and her eyes grew heavy.

"I'll wake you up when it's time for another spoonful," Ruby said. "Here have one more drink before you go to sleep." He handed her the goblet, refilled. She drank it with out hesitation.

"That's it," Ruby said, satisfied. He took the goblet from her and put it on the nightstand. Serenity then closed her eyes. Ruby ran the back of his talons down her face. He did this very gently as it was the side that was bruised and cut up. He smiled knowing that she was going to be okay. He laid down beside her bed and went back to sleep.

Two weeks later Ruby noticed that the bruises on Serenity's body were getting smaller. This pleased him. He hated to see her so beaten up and couldn't wait to have her as a normal child. She spent her days exploring the castle with Chris. He showed her all the secret passageways and all the hidden rooms. After Queen Aurora fed them both lunch they went back to Chris loft and read in his giant bean bag. Serenity had graduated from Mother Goose and was now reading Wind in the Willows. She would occasionally ask Chris how to say a word and he would show her how to get passed words she got stuck on. Ruby would come find her at the end of each day and take her back to their room. She sometimes slept in the bed and sometimes she forgot about the bed and slept with Ruby. Then one morning Ruby woke her up, it was the day H.D. Vitamin was due to return. She had slept in her bed. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Ruby.

"Good morning," he said, nuzzling her. Serenity sat up and hugged his snout.

"Hi Ruby," she said.

"Vitamin's coming today to see how your doing," Ruby said. Serenity gripped his snout even tighter, like she was holding of for her life.

"I'll be okay," Ruby said, sensing her fear. "He won't stick any needles into you. He's just going to take that Bandaid off and take your stitches out."

"Don't go anywhere," Serenity said.

"I won't," said Ruby. Suddenly there came a knock on the door. Ruby gently pried his snout out of her grip. She seemed reluctant to let go.

"I'm just going to get the door okay?" Ruby said gently. "You stay right there, I'll be right back." Serenity let go and Ruby went to get the door. Serenity half hoped it was Chris, but it was Vitamin.

"Hey Ruby," Vitamin said. "How's Serenity?"

"She's doing a lot better," Ruby said. "She's pretty scared though." He let the Healer Dragon in and closed the door. Vitamin saw Serenity and smiled. Ruby went back to her side.

"Well hello again," Vitamin said to Serenity. "How's your face?" Serenity said nothing. Ruby wrapped his wings around her. Vitamin unloaded his things on the bed. Serenity leaned on Ruby's shoulder.

"May I see your Bandaid?" Vitamin asked softly. "Please?" Serenity turned her head exposing her Bandaid, and burying her face onto Ruby's scales. Vitamin gently peeled the Bandaid off the stitches. The Bandaid had a big blood stain on it. The injury was healing, the stitches did their job.

"Well that's looking a lot better," said Vitamin. "I think it's safe to take those out today." He put the Bandaid away. He pulled out a small pair of clippers and tweezers. Serenity hugged Ruby tighter. Vitamin went to work. He put anesthetics on the stitches so Serenity wouldn't feel any pain. Then he used the clippers to cut the stitches, then used the tweezers to pull them out. It only took him a few minuets. Serenity had her eyes closed the whole time.

"Okay, all done," said Vitamin. Serenity opened her eyes. Vitamin put another Bandaid over the scar.

"That new Bandaid has a formula in it to make the scar as invisible as possible," he told Ruby. "You can it off next week." He put his things away and pulled out another sucker, a blue one, and handed it to Serenity.

"Thank you again Vitamin," said Ruby. Vitamin nodded and smiled. Ruby walked him to the door.

"I still can't get over the fact that she was beaten with a shovel," said Vitamin. "At age five. What kind of shovel was it again?"

"fireplace shovel," said Ruby. "A big one."

"How to you know it was a big shovel?" asked Vitamin. "I thought you said you weren't there."

"I saw the fireplace shovel every time I went in that house," Ruby said. "It was the only shovel in the house. And when Serenity told me she was beaten with a shovel I knew it was the fireplace shovel. But with the size of it she might as well have been hit with a regular shovel; a big fireplace shovel for a large fireplace."

"I see," said Vitamin. "Was it made of iron?" Ruby nodded. Vitamin sighed, he looked like he was in pain just picturing Serenity being hit with a shovel.

"Well I should be off," he said. "I have other patients to tend to." Ruby opened the door and bid the Healer Dragon good bye. Serenity changed into one of the many outfits Queen Aurora had made for her. Then she ran up to Ruby and hugged him. He nuzzled her.

"I love you Ruby," she said.

"I love you too," Ruby said. Then there came another knock on the door.

"Come in," Serenity called. The door opened and Chris peeked in.

"Hey you want to see the dungeons?" he asked. "I know the secret passage to get into it."

"Okay," Serenity said. She gave Ruby one more hug and kissed his muzzle. Then she went off to explore the castle with Chris.

The more Serenity explored the castle the more it felt like home to her. Her injuries went away over time. Day after day she spent hanging out with Chris, and night after night she snuggled with Ruby. The young dragon watched her grow. She turned from the little helpless, beat-up girl into a very beautiful child with the brightest of futures. When the cuts and bruises went away for good all the dragons saw just how beautiful she was. She had golden brown hair, pale golden skin, and emerald green eyes. But not only was she beautiful, but also well behaved and a very good friend to Chris. When they had explored the whole castle they went dragon riding; Serenity rode Ruby and Chris rode his dad Re. Chris and the dragons showed her the gleaming city of Bluegreen. It had the tallest buildings Serenity had ever seen. Re explained to her that dragons loved being up high, because they could see farther. As a result the dragons made their buildings extra tall. 'Living in the clouds', as he called it. The buildings were either as tall as mountains or as big as a gladiator arena. Dragons flew in and out of the buildings. They all said hello to their king. Re introduced Serenity to all his friends. They seemed to like her fine, and were all horrified to hear that she had been hit with a shovel. They would go back to the castle at night where Aurora and Alto had diner waiting. Serenity was growing to trust Chris and his family like she trusted Ruby. They would sometimes go to the Royal Town Beach for picnics, and Serenity and Chris went swimming in the lagoon. Chris would tell Serenity everything he knew about dragons and their ways.

And before they knew it, two years had gone by. Serenity and Chris were now seven years old. They were best friends, and planed to be so forever. Serenity sometimes slept over in Chris's room whenever the dragons went on an overnight fishing trips. Then one day Ruby went up to the royal dragons one winter's day.

"Your majesties, would it be a bad idea to show Serenity the rest of Draconia?" he asked.

"I think that's a great idea," said Aurora. "Don't you have family in Apple Grove?"

"Yeah, we'll go there first," said Ruby. "I think my family will like her."

"When do you plan on leaving?" asked Re.

"Tomorrow," said Ruby. "I don't like waiting."

"How long will you be gone for?" asked Aurora.

"A week minimum," said Ruby.

"I think Chris can survive a week or two," said Re with a chuckle. Suddenly there came a crash from somewhere in the castle. All three dragons became alert. They ran out of the Great Hall and towards where the sound had come from. They ran through the castle to one of the galleries. They arrived in a room that was full of the other items Aurora had collected over the years. There they found Chris and Serenity standing over a glass pedestal that had smashed on the ground, leaving the Cup of Life it held without a perch. The two children looked up at the dragons with sorry looks on their faces.

"What happened?" Aurora asked, she sounded mad.

"I'm sorry Mama," said Chris. "I wanted to show Serenity the Cup of Life, so I went to get it off the stand, but I guess I leaned on it too much and the stand fell over." Serenity gently picked up the shiny silver goblet and gave it to the Queen she took it and examined it. It seemed unharmed. Re glared down at his son.

"Go to your room," he ordered. "Now." Chris left the room hanging his head in shame. Aurora used her magic to repair the pedestal and put the Cup of Life back in its place.

"Why's it called the Cup of Life?" Serenity asked.

"It has healing powers," said Aurora. "If one drank from it they would get everlasting life."

"Cool," said Serenity. Then she looked in the direction Chris went. "What's going to happen to him?"

"You don't need to worry about that," said Re.

"You're not going to throw him into the dungeon are you?" Serenity asked scared.

"Oh, heaven's no," said Re. "I would never throw him in the dungeons over a little thing like this. He's just going to confined to his room for a week." Serenity looked at the floor sadly. Ruby nuzzled her cheek and she hugged him.

"Poor Chris," she said. "No one to play with." Re and Aurora looked at each other.

"Don't worry," said Ruby. "You're going to be busy this week, and you'll be playing with him in no time."

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked.

"You and I are going to explore Draconia," Ruby said. "Just the two of us."

"Really?" said Serenity looking him in the eyes.

"Yup, we're heading out tomorrow," Ruby said. "And we'll be gone for a week."

"Wow, I can't wait," Serenity said excitedly. She began to run out of the room.

"Where are you going?" asked Aurora.

"I'm going to tell Chris," Serenity said. "And maybe invite him along."

"He's being punished right now," Re said. "So he can't go anywhere for a while." Serenity chewed on her bottom lip, like she was hiding something but didn't want to say what.

"Can I at least keep him company?" she asked. "Before I met Ruby no one kept me company when I got punished." The dragons looked at each other.

"Alright," said Aurora. "But don't let him out." Serenity smiled and ran off. Chris's room wasn't very far from that particular gallery. She ran across the bridge to his door and knocked on it.

"Hey Chris!" she called. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah, come in," Chris called back. Serenity opened the door and went inside the room. Chris was laying on his bed looking at the ceiling. He sat up as Serenity walked up to the bed.

"Did you tell them it was you?" he asked.

"I wanted to, so I could get you out of trouble," Serenity said. "But I didn't."

"Good," said Chris.

"But why Chris?" Serenity asked. "It's not like I've never been punished before."

"Because you're my friend," Chris said. "That's what friends do for each other. Plus you've been punished enough, especially with that shovel. You deserve a break." Serenity let it go and changed the subject.

"Ruby wants to take me on a country tour tomorrow," she said.

"Hey that's awesome," said Chris. "Mom and Dad own over 600,000 square miles of land. Even I haven't seen it all yet."

"I take it that's big," said Serenity.

"Yeah, really big," said Chris. "You'll see just how big tomorrow. Where is Ruby taking you first?"

"Not sure," said Serenity. "I don't think he knows."

"All the cities in Draconia are located near a large body of water," Chris said. "Like a lake, a river, or the ocean itself. It's so the citizens of the those cities have access to water and fish. And you'll be blown away when you see the the size of Appleoppollis, our largest city. But I don't want to ruin anything." Just then there came a knock on the door.

"Come in," Chris said. The door opened and Re came in. The two kids looked at him.

"Hello your majesty," said Serenity.

"Ruby's looking for you," Re told her. "He wants you back in your room." Serenity turned to Chris.

"You better go," he said. "I'll see if I can come see you off tomorrow." Then Serenity hugged him, which he wasn't expecting. But he hugged her back. Then they separated and Serenity left to find Ruby.

"Did you see what she just did?" Chris said.

"Sure did," said Re. "She obviously likes ya."

"I like her," said Chris. "Can I go see her off tomorrow?"

"I suppose," Re said. "As long as you come right back up here afterwords."

"Okay," Chris said. Re seemed satisfied.

Early the next morning Ruby and Serenity prepared for their long trip. They packed clothes, food, and water. Then they went down to the front lawn where Chris and his family waited to send them off. Ruby knelt down while Serenity gave Chris another hug.

"I'll bring you something from each city," Serenity said.

"Hey I'd like that," Chris said. "See you in a week." They broke apart and Serenity mounted her dragon. Ruby got to his feet.

"Where are we going first?" she asked him.

"Apple Gove," said Ruby. "To see my family. I think you'll like them."

"Cool," said Serenity. Ruby spread his wings and took off. They flew over the Silver Gates, over the city of Bluegreen, and over the mountains beyond.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They flew over the snow-covered mountains and trees. Serenity was wearing a heavy winter coat that Aurora had made for her, so she wouldn't get cold when she was up in the air. Ruby flew at high speed, heading south. They passed other dragons who were on their way to various destinations. They didn't pay any attention to Serenity and Ruby. It started to snow as they flew over a deep canyon that had huge thorn bushes at the bottom and at the top. As they flew over it Ruby tuned and headed east.

"That's a lot of thorns," said Serenity.

"That's Dragon Claw Canyon," said Ruby. "The thorns are ten times the size of any other thorn bush, as hard and sharp as a dragon's talons. And some are as big as swords."

"Wow, that's scary," said Serenity.

"Don't worry we're not going there," Ruby said. He picked up speed and they soon lost sight of the canyon. They were soon flying over a huge forest of large golden trees. They were larger than oak trees, and they were everywhere.

"Wow, I've never seen golden trees before," Serenity said.

"Those are golden apple trees," Ruby said. "They only grow on Draconia and they're the country's oldest and most plentiful resource. There's a large town in the midst of this forest, called Apple Grove, and that's where we're going." He flew low over the golden trees and Serenity saw the huge golden apples hanging on the branches. While they flew Ruby taught her some more Dragontongue as not all dragons spoke Latin. The royal dragons were the only dragons who spoke all languages both human and animal. Ruby also told Serenity about the Dragon God Draco. He ruled the Dragon Heaven, the place all good dragon spirits go when they died. Draco was a mighty dragon with green scales, blue wings, and gold horns, claws, spines, and eyes. He had the power to do what ever he wanted, when he wanted. Ruby also said that Aurora was his only begotten daughter, he created her egg with his mighty power and put it beside Re's egg. Serenity liked the sound of this dragon.

"Do you think he likes me?" she asked.

"I'm sure he does," said Ruby. "He saw the way you were being treated back at your old house, and he led me to you."

"Wow," said Serenity. "Can I meet him?"

"He only comes to Earth on special occasions," Ruby said. "But you'll meet him someday." He continued to speed over the mountains and trees.

An hour later the started to see buildings among the golden apple trees. Ruby smiled, he would soon be in the town where he hatched and was excited to show Serenity. He flew even faster, eager to be home. Then he flew over a tall mountain and Apple Grove lay before him, nestled among the apple trees in the large valley. In the middle of the town was a large, glass building in the shape of an apple. Ruby circled the town, looking down on his home.

"Who lives in there?" Serenity asked, pointing at the apple shaped building.

"The King and Queen have a house in every town," said Ruby. "They like to visit the other towns and cities. Each town or city has its own leader that looks after the citizens and help them with their problems. But if something happens that effects the whole country the leader goes and tells Re and Aurora."

"Who's the leader here?" Serenity asked.

"I don't know, I haven't been here in a long time," Ruby said. Then he headed for the mountains on the other side of the valley. He cleared the first ring of mountains and headed for a cliff on the side of the second ring of mountains. Ruby landed on it and folded his wings with a sigh.

"Home sweet home," he said to himself. He walked along the cliff towards a large stone door set into the mountain side.

"This is where you live?" Serenity asked.

"Yup, right in this cave," said Ruby. He knocked on the door and waited. The door opened and a dragon poked its head out. It was light blue with darker blue squares down its head, neck, back, and tail. It was about as tall as Ruby.

"Hello Zircon," Ruby said.

"Ruby! You came home," Zircon cried happily. She pulled the door wider and came out. Serenity slid off Ruby's back. Zircon nuzzled Ruby's neck and he nuzzled her back.

"It's good to see you," said Zircon.

"Are the others here?" Ruby asked. Zircon stepped back to look him in the eye.

"Well, Mom and Dad went to the Eternal Skies last year," she said. "But everyone else is here, come in." She turned and went back inside the cave. Ruby followed and Serenity followed him. Inside the cave three other dragons sat around a large fire pit. The ceiling was really high and a silver chandelier hung from the rafters. It had glowing crystals on it that filled the cave with light. There were numerous cliffs and ledges all along the wall. A small pool of water sat in the corner. The three dragon looked up from their conversation when Ruby and Zircon came in. The largest dragon was silver with emerald green squares down the neck, back, and tail. He had a white underbelly, emerald green eyes, and dark grey horns. The smallest dragon was very young, not even fully grown. She was white with silver grey wings and horns, she was as tall as Serenity. The middle dragon was amber gold with white on the edge of her wings and the tip of her golden horns.

"Hello everyone," Ruby said. "I'm home."

"Ruby!" cried the white dragon. She reared up then ran to him. Ruby greeted and nuzzled each member of his family in turn. Then Zircon spotted Serenity and tilted her head.

"Hello, who do we have here?" Zircon asked.

"Oh yeah," Ruby said. "Everyone, this is my ward Serenity." Zircon lowered her head to Serenity's level.

"Hi sweetie," Zircon said gently. Serenity petted her snout. The dragon smiled and nuzzled her shoulder.

"Zircon is my younger sister," Ruby said. "She was only a hatchling when I left." At that moment the young, white dragon approached Serenity and wormed her head under Serenity's hand.

"That's Crystal," said Zircon. "She's our newest member." Serenity hugged Crystal's neck. The other two dragons looked down at Serenity, as though they didn't trust her. Serenity looked up at them timidly.

"That's Emerald," said Zircon, pointing to the green and silver dragon. "And Amber, they're the oldest." Amber and Emerald looked at each other. Serenity approached Amber, as she looked the friendliest. Amber lowered her head a little.

"Where did you find her?" Zircon asked Ruby.

"On the front porch of her house," said Ruby. "Her family was very abusive. So I brought her here to Draconia."

"Maybe they want her back now," said Amber.

"They don't," said Ruby. "And even if they did, I would never take her back there. Her father beat her with a shovel." Both Amber and Zircon gasped at this. Even Emerald looked shocked.

"In my opinion the human race is the worst form of scum in the world," he said. "Planet Earth was just fine until they came and ruined it. Now they're starting to turn on their own kind. No good will ever come of these humans, mark my words." Serenity looked at him, sheepishly. None of the other dragons could argue with this little speech. Emerald crawled onto one of the ledges and laid down on it. Amber lowered her head to Serenity's level.

"She's really pretty," Amber admitted. "Never thought I'd say that about a human." Serenity petted Amber's snout.

"So how long are you staying?" Zircon asked Ruby.

"Until tomorrow night," said Ruby. "I'm showing Serenity the rest of the country."

"There's a snow storm heading our way," said Emerald. "It will arrive tomorrow night, you sure it's a good idea to go flying?"

"I've flown through a snow storm before," said Ruby.

"Yeah, but you're not the best at it," said Amber. "You had a really bad crash the first time you tried." Ruby flinched at the memory.

"So why did you leave us?" Zircon asked Ruby. "We all really missed you." Ruby looked confused.

"Bullhorn said you didn't want me," he said. "He said you had been trying to get rid of me for ages. So I left, thinking that's what you wanted. And he told the other dragons not to have anything to do with me." Emerald growled and gripped the side of his ledge in anger.

"Of course we wanted you," said Amber. "Bullhorn was the one who didn't want you. He was jealous of all the attention you were getting."

"Oh," said Ruby, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry little brother," said Emerald. "You're home now and that's all that matters."

"That's why I took Serenity under my wing," Ruby said. "No one wanted her either." Amber looked down at Serenity who hadn't said a word since she entered the cave. The dragons all laid back down around the fire pit. Ruby relit it then sat next to Crystal. Serenity looked around for a place to sit.

"Here you can sit next to me," said Zircon, lifting her blue wing. Serenity sat on the floor beside her and Zircon put her wing around her.

"So tell us all about her," said Amber. "How you met, all that stuff."

Ruby told them all about Serenity, and all that she had been through. Serenity leaned against Zircon's shoulder. She listened to Ruby's story too, closing her eyes. Ruby's siblings were quite horrified to hear how many times Serenity had been beaten. Emerald growled Ruby got to the part about the shovel. But when Ruby told them about bringing her to the castle, they relaxed a bit. Serenity eventually fell asleep, resting her head on Zircon's shoulder. When they story came to an end all the dragons felt sorry for Serenity and happy that she had Chris for a friend. Amber looked over at the sleeping girl.

"Do you think it's a good idea to bring her into town?" she asked. "Not all the dragons there will like having a human among them."

"We'll go out tomorrow and tell the town about her," said Emerald. "I don't think any of the dragons will harm her, but I'm not taking that chance."

"Who's the town leader nowadays?" asked Ruby.

"You're in his presence," Emerald said, smiling proudly. Ruby looked surprised.

"Wow, you're the village leader?" he said. "That's really cool." Zircon looked down at Serenity.

"What do you plan to do with her?" she asked. "While we're telling the others."

"She'll have to stay in the cave," Emerald said, then he spotted the worried look of Ruby's face.

"Don't worry Ruby," he said. "She'll be perfect safe here, and Crystal can keep her company." Ruby seemed to relax a bit. They all made themselves comfortable on the floor. Zircon let Serenity sleep next to her, and Ruby slept on the ledge he used to sleep on when he was younger. Emerald looked over at Serenity, tucked under Zircon's wing. He could see why Ruby was so fond of her. She was very lovely, both inside and out. Emerald didn't want anything bad happen to her, she was way too good to be hit with a shovel. He got to his feet and went over to her. He lowered his head and gently nuzzled her shoulder. He hated humans before, but now he hated them even more for being so mean to this girl. Emerald laid down beside Zircon and Serenity and fell asleep.

The next day all the dragons woke up, except for Crystal. Zircon lifted her head and gently roused Serenity. The girl woke up and yawned.

"Good morning," Zircon said happily. "Did you sleep okay?" Serenity nodded as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Ruby jumped down from his ledge and stretched his limbs. Serenity got to her feet.

"So how are we going to keep Bullhorn from her?" asked Amber. "He sees humans as play things."

"She'll have to stay mounted on a dragon the whole time," said Emerald. "But first we have to see if it's safe enough to bring her out." The dragons went to the exit of the cave. Then Ruby spotted Serenity on his heels and lowered his head to her.

"You have to stay here," he said. "We're going to see if it's safe to bring you into the town. I'll be right back, I promise." Serenity looked like she was about to cry. Ruby nuzzled her lovingly.

"Hey, don't cry," Ruby said. "This isn't like your old life, I will come back for you." Serenity sighed.

"Okay," she said quietly. She sniffed and backed up.

"Crystal will keep you company," Ruby said. With that he followed his brother and sisters. They left the cave and took off. Serenity sat on the ground to wait. Crystal woke up and when she saw Serenity all alone, she went and sat next to her. Serenity petted the young, white dragon.

They only sat there for half an hour before the adult dragons came back. Ruby came into the cave looking happy. Serenity got to her feet and ran to him. He lowered his head and she hugged him.

"Come on, you can come meat my friends now," Ruby said. "But you will have to stay on my back the whole time we're there. I don't want you to get trampled."

"Okay," said Serenity. Ruby lowered himself to the ground so she could mount him. Then Ruby turned and went back outside, Crystal followed him. Amber, Emerald, and Zircon were waiting for them on the cliff. They spread their wings and took off. They headed towards the main town. They headed for the center of the town, where the giant apple was, and landed at the base. Dragons of all sorts came over to them. Serenity stayed in the saddle as all of Ruby's old friends greeted him warmly. They hadn't seen Ruby in a long time and wanted to hear about his travels. They didn't notice Serenity until Ruby introduced her to them. Some of the dragons went up and said hello, while others kept their distance. Then one army green Blackfang that was missing one of his horns, came up to them. He growled when he saw Ruby.

"What are you doing back here?" he hissed. "I thought I told you to leave and never come back."

"You had no right to say that Bullhorn," said Emerald. "He has just as much right to be here as you do." Bullhorn snarled and flashed his black teeth. Then he spotted Serenity.

"Well, how nice," he sneered. "You brought me a peace offering." He licked his lips. Emerald growled took a fighting stance. Bullhorn went to bite Serenity but Ruby blocked him and knocked Bullhorn out of the way.

"You've got some nerve getting between a dragon and his prey," Bullhorn snapped, all the dragons roared at this.

"Bullhorn don't you dare hurt that girl!" came a voice from the crowd. Everyone turned to see a pure white, female, Whippertail. She was brighter than new fallen snow. She had deep blue eyes and white feathery wings.

"Harmony," said Ruby, happy to see her. The white dragon walked up to him, she seemed to glow slightly in the sunlight. Harmony stood next to Ruby and nuzzled his neck. He nuzzled her back.

"I thought I would never see you again," said Harmony. "You have no idea how long I've had to put up with Bullhorn."

"I can imagine it wasn't pleasant," said Ruby. "I'm really sorry Harmony." Serenity, feeling forgotten, noticed that Harmony's feathers were brushing against her leg. She reached out and touched the soft, white feathers. Harmony noticed this and turned her attention to Serenity.

"This is Serenity," Ruby said quietly. Harmony smiled.

"I like your name," she said. "It's very pretty." Serenity quickly withdrew her hand.

"Thank you," she said. Harmony looked pleased and draped her wing around Ruby's shoulder. Serenity touched the soft feathers that were now across her lap. Then Harmony turned to Bullhorn.

"You've had your way for too long," she said. "And I for one have had enough. You will not harm this girl, or anyone else." Bullhorn snorted, recognizing when he was backed into a corner. He backed off and walked away. Ruby turned to Harmony.

"Thank you," he said.

"My pleasure," said Harmony. "She's very pretty." She looked at Serenity who was still fixated on Harmony's feathers.

"You should probably get her out of here," said Emerald. "Bullhorn won't let this go so easily." Ruby sighed.

"You're right," he said. "But I will miss you all." Harmony nuzzled him again.

"We'll come see you at the castle," she said. "It's not good bye forever." She folded her wing and stood back.

"Thanks for coming to visit," said Zircon. "I look forward to seeing Serenity more in the future." She nuzzled Serenity one last time. Then all the other dragons stood back so Ruby could take off. But suddenly the sky filled with white fog. Ruby looked concerned.

"Oh no, not the fog," he said.

"Maybe you should wait until it clears up," said Amber. "You're not the best at flying through fog either." Ruby sighed.

"Well I'm never going to get any better by just staying on the ground," said Ruby. "We should be fine as long as I stay low."

"Okay, if you're sure," said Amber. "Draco's speed." Ruby spread his wings and took off. Serenity held on as they flew through the fog. They headed back the way the had come.

They flew for a long time. Ruby stayed low where he could see, but unfortunately that brought him dangerously close to the tops of the mountains. He had flown through fog before and knew what to do. But that didn't stop the mountains coming out of nowhere and causing him to veer sharply out of the way, almost dislodging Serenity. She held on to the saddle as tight as she could. Ruby continue to dodge the mountains. Then suddenly a sharp looking mountain peek came out of nowhere so suddenly that Ruby didn't get out of the way in time. His right wing slammed into it, breaking it like toothpicks. Ruby roared in pain and Serenity screamed. They had hit the mountain so fast that it spun Ruby around rapidly. He slammed into more mountains, luckily Serenity was spared. Ruby tried to fly but his wing was broken and he headed for the ground. He slammed onto the side of a steep mountain, landing on his front. He began sliding down the mountains. He tried to stop, but not only was his wing broken but now his ribs were broken. He slid, down the mountain, out of the fog, and strait for the edge of Dragon Claw Canyon. He was going so fast that he knew he would go right into the thorns. He was helpless. The only thing he could do was use his tail to pull Serenity off his back and onto the ground to safety. She rolled a bit but was able to stop herself. She sat up just in time to see her dragons crash into the thorn bushes. There came roars of pain as Ruby went further and further into the thorns.

"Ruby!" Serenity cried. "Ruby! Where are you?" She got no answer. She ran to the edge of the bushes and tried to see if she could spot him.

"Ruby!" she called. "Are you in there? Please say something." She began to tear up. Then she could just barley make out the silhouette of a dragon caught in the dense, sharp thorns. The dragon wasn't moving.

"RUBY NO!" Serenity screamed. "Please come out." Hearing her scream made Ruby come around. He opened his eyes and felt pain. The thorns had stabbed through his flesh and were holding him in place. He struggled to get free but it only caused him more pain. He could see Serenity through the thorns, she was crying. Ruby struggled harder to get free. He didn't care how much it hurt, he had to get to her. Several branches broke allowing him to start crawling towards the edge of the thorns. Serenity watched him fight to get free. Then after fifteen minuets of struggling and flighting Ruby came out of the thrones and collapsed on the ground. Serenity ran to his side and knelt beside him. Ruby was hurt really bad. There were still many thrones sticking out of his body, and there hundreds of stab wounds and gashes. His wing membranes were completely shredded up and the wings themselves were stuck in destining angles. Though Serenity couldn't see it, every bone in his body except his skull and spine, were broken.

"Ruby, please get up," Serenity begged. "We have to go home."

"I can't move," Ruby whispered, in agony. "We'll have wait until help comes." He lifted his head a little and shot fire at a nearby sapling, sending up a smoke signal. Then he laid his head down. Serenity laid next to his head.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked, sobbing.

"I don't think so," Ruby said. "I'm banged up pretty bad." Serenity cried harder and buried her face into his scales. Ruby was in so much pain he wanted to pass out, but he forced himself to stay awake. If he died now Serenity would be all alone with no help at all, he stayed alive for her. He vowed to stay alive until he was sure Serenity was well taken care of.

"Serenity," he said, in barely more than a whisper. "Come here." He lifted his wing and Serenity snuggled close to his chest. He wrapped his wings around her, so she wouldn't be cold. She cried into his scales.

"It'll be okay," Ruby said. "Help will come. Dragons fly over this canyon all the time." Ignoring the pain he curled around his ward.

Three days they lay there waiting to be rescued. The fog was replaced with snow and rain. Ruby and Serenity cuddled together on the mountain side, refusing to leave the other alone. They each drifted in and out of consciousness. They had just fallen asleep when three dragons appeared over the canyon. They saw Ruby's fire signal and homed in on it. They soon saw the helpless pair and went to their rescue.

Serenity woke up and found herself in a warm, dark place. She was laying on a soft bed with a quilt over her. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a hospital room on a cot. She sat up and looked around. The room was empty and the door was open. She had no idea how she got there, but that wasn't the biggest question she had.

"Ruby!?" she called. "Ruby! Where are you?" She started to cry again. Just then a Healer Dragon entered the room, and Serenity recognized Vitamin. He looked very sad.

"Where's Ruby?" she asked him. Vitamin hung his head.

"He's expecting you," he said. "Come." Serenity got off the bed and followed him to the hall. They went across to the room on the opposite side. Vitamin opened the door and Serenity ran inside. The room was even darker than the room Serenity had been in. The royal dragons were all there, gathered around the bed. Ruby lay on the bed, not moving. Serenity ran to his bedside, hoping for the best.

"Ruby?" she whispered. Then she turned to Vitamin. "Is he going to be okay?" Vitamin shook his head.

"We've done all we can," he said. "But there was just too much damage. His skeleton is in pieces, his injuries are all infected, and one of those thrones stabbed his heart. There's nothing that I can do for him, I'm sorry." Serenity burst into tears and turned back to Ruby.

"Ruby, please wake up," she begged. Ruby heard her voice and wrenched his eyes open. He saw Serenity and smiled when he saw that she was okay.

"Hey sunshine," he wheezed.

"Ruby! You're okay," Serenity said. Ruby heaves a painful sigh.

"No I'm not," he said. "I'm done for."

"What? No you're not," said Serenity. "You're awake."

"He's not going to make it Serenity," said Vitamin. "The only thing I can do is send him up to the Dragon Heaven." He held up a syringe that was filled with clear liquid. Serenity looked at it, scared.

"No, don't kill him," she begged. "Please don't kill him."

"He's just going to suffer if I don't give him this," said Vitamin. "Ruby if I give you this you'll fall asleep in fifteen minuets, then that's it." Ruby sighed the turned to the King and Queen.

"It's okay Ruby," said Aurora. "We'll take good care of Serenity, I made you that promise and I'll keep it."

"Okay," Ruby wheezed.

"Please say you're going to be okay Ruby," Serenity cried. "Please."

"No Serenity," Ruby said. "You have to let me go." Serenity cried harder. Ruby lifted his wing and she climbed onto the bed. She snuggled close to him and he wrapped his wings and paws around her. She sobbed into his scales.

"I don't want you to go," she sobbed.

"I know you don't," said Ruby. "I love you so much." He hugged her tightly. Then he looked over at Vitamin.

"I'm ready now," he whispered. Vitamin nodded and then reluctantly gave him the drug.

"We'll leave you two alone now," said Re.

"You're majesty," Ruby said, his voice was getting weaker already. "Please promise me Serenity won't be alone when I'm gone."

"I promise," Re said. "We all do." With that they all left the room, followed by Vitamin. Ruby turned his attention back to Serenity. She continued to sob into his scales.

"Serenity," he whispered. "It's okay, it's not good bye forever."

"It's not?" Serenity said, sounding hopeful.

"No," said Ruby. "I'll come back to you I give you the word of a dragon."

"When will you come back?" Serenity asked.

"I don't know," Ruby said. "One day you'll wake up and there I'll be." Serenity hugged him as though it was going to keep him alive.

"What am I going to do without you?" she sobbed.

"You're going to go on living," Ruby said. "You're going to grow up into a beautiful young woman and be happy. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Serenity said.

"And I'll be thinking of you always," Ruby said, he was starting to feel sleepy.

"I love you so much," Serenity said.

"And go on loving me even though you can't see me," Ruby said. "I'll still love you too." He held her close, like he did when they first met so long ago. He was very sleepy now. He laid his head down as he lost the strength to hold it up. Serenity hugged him tighter. She could hear his heartbeat and started to lull her to sleep.

"Thank you for changing my life," she said, still crying.

"I wouldn't have given it up for anything," Ruby said.

"I love you," Serenity said.

"I love you too," Ruby whispered. And with that they both fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Serenity woke up the following morning. She was back in her bed in the castle. She sat up and looked around the room.

"Ruby!" she called. "Ruby!" She expected Ruby to come to her side like always and she would give him a morning hug. But he didn't come, and after a few minuets Serenity remembered why. She burst into tears and buried her face in her knees. Ruby was gone, and wasn't coming back. She felt like her heart had a huge chunk taken out of it, and that it was bleeding badly. She laid back down on her pillow, still crying. She turned to face her nightstand. She saw a framed photograph facing her. It was a picture of Serenity on Ruby's saddle. They were both smiling forward. The frame was red orange, with real rubies cut in rhombus shapes. The picture had been taken shortly after Serenity's bruises went away, back when she was five. Serenity sat back up and picked up the picture. She looked at it still crying. Just then there came a knock on the door.

"Serenity, are you awake?" said Aurora'a voice. Serenity didn't say anything, she just held the picture close and sobbed harder. The Queen opened the door and stuck her head in. When she saw Serenity crying so hard she went over to her side. She gently nuzzled her. Serenity looked up at the Queen. She stood up on the bed and hugged Aurora very tightly. She buried her face into her blue scales and let it all out. Aurora draped her wings around Serenity and hugged her back. They didn't say anything for a while.

Then Aurora noticed Serenity was crying so hard she couldn't breathe. The Queen nuzzled her.

"Shhh, it's okay," she said, very gently. "I know it's hard." Serenity said nothing, but started to calm down a bit. However, she refused to let go of Aurora.

"I miss Ruby, I want him back," she said finally.

"I know you do," said Aurora. "I'm sure he misses you too. He also wouldn't want you be sad." Serenity heaved a sigh. She remembered the promise she'd made to Ruby just before he died. She told him she would go on loving him and be happy.

"How can I be happy when he's gone forever?" she asked.

"Well, you remember all the good times you had with him," said Aurora. "You can always find him in your memories." Serenity finally let go of the Queen and sat on the bed. She looked down at the picture of her and Ruby, and ran her fingers over Ruby's face.

"That's a lovely picture," said Aurora. "Do you remember the day it was taken?" Serenity nodded.

"You used something called a camera to take it," she said.

"Yes," said Aurora. "Humans will invent cameras later, but I was able to make one with my magic. What did you and Ruby do the day that picture was taken?"

"We went flying over Bluegreen," said Serenity. "Chris and Re came too. You stayed behind with Alto and made us diner."

"It was a good day wasn't it?" said Aurora. "You had a lot of fun." Serenity nodded and held the picture close to her heart.

"If you continue to remember those good days, Ruby will never be gone forever," said Aurora. Serenity let her mind wander back in time to when Ruby was alive and well. She remembered all the times Ruby comforted her when she had a nightmare. How he wrapped her up in his wings and made her feel safe. She remembered when he held her while Vitamin stitched up her face. She remembered when he took her away from her abusive family and brought her to a place where she could be happy, and have a chance at a normal childhood. And lastly, she remembered how he had saved her life just before he crashed into the thorns. As she remembered all this she relaxed a great deal. She wiped the tears away from her cheeks. Aurora pulled out a white handkerchief with blue snowflakes on it. She gently used it to wipe the rest of the tears away.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Serenity said, her voice shaky. Aurora gave her the handkerchief and she blew her nose on it. The Queen used her magic to clean the handkerchief, then put it away.

"Where's Chris?" Serenity asked.

"In his room," said Aurora. "You can go see him if you want, it'll help you to feel better." Serenity looked back at the picture. She sniffed. Aurora nuzzled her, and she laid her head on the Queen's forehead.

"Okay," Serenity said. She took a huge breath and put the picture back on the nightstand.

"I love you Ruby," she said. "I'll never forget you." She got out of bed and got dressed.

She went through the castle towards Chris's room. When she got there she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Chris called. Serenity went inside to find Chris sitting on his bed reading. Chris looked up when Serenity closed the door. He closed the book and got off the bed.

"Hey, how you holding up?" he asked.

"I think I'll be okay," Serenity said. Chris dug into his pocket and pulled out a small black box.

"I had this made for you yesterday," he said. "I hope it will help." Serenity took the box and opened it. Laying on a black velvet cushion was a locket hanging from a gold chain. The locket was the size of her hand. Looking closer at it Serenity realized the locket was made of two red orange dragon scales cut in the shape of a heart and hinged together. A small ruby stone, cut in a rhombus shape, was set into the middle of the heart.

"Dragons shed their scales," Chris said. "Those are some of the scales Ruby shed last year, I had them made into a locket. Open it." Serenity gently pulled the locket off the the pillow and put the box on a nearby table. She then pried it open with her fingernails. Inside the locket was a small photograph of Ruby, the other slot was empty.

"There's an engraving on the back," Chris said. Serenity closed the locket and turned in over. A single sentence was engraved into the other dragon scale.

_'In loving memory of the dragon who changed my life'. _

Serenity couldn't help but smile. Then she looked up at Chris.

"Thank you," she said, as she hugged him. He hugged her back. When they separated Serenity put the locket around her neck and secured it at the back. It felt like a Bandaid over her bleeding heart.

"So what do you want to do today?" asked Chris. "I'm open to anything."

"What book are you reading?" Serenity asked.

"King Arthur and the Nights of the Round Table," said Chris. He went back over to the bed and picked up his book. "I haven't read it yet." He handed it to Serenity and she looked at the cover. It showed a picture of a round table with men sitting around it, covered in shiny armor. One man was standing up and holding a gleaming sword triumphantly. He wore a golden crown with gems set into it. Sitting on his right was a woman, also wearing a crown.

"Is that my round table?" Serenity asked.

"The very same one," said Chris. "And that's the very same sword hanging on your wall." He pointed to the sword in King Arthur's hand.

"Hey I have an idea," Serenity said. "You have a book about The Round Table, and I own The Round Table. How about we read this one together, sitting on top of it."

"Mama won't like it if we scratch the surface," Chris said.

"What if we took off our shoes," Serenity said. "I'm sure the table won't suffer too bad. Besides, King Arthur must have slammed his fist on the surface plenty of times and put a dent in it or two."

"Good point," Chris said. "Okay."

The two kids left the room and went back to Serenity's room. When they got there they found the Round Table waiting for them. They both took their shoes off and climbed onto the table. Then Serenity got off the table and went over to where Excalibur hung. She stood on a chair and open the box. She carefully removed the sword from its hooks.

"Careful with that, it's heavy and sharp," said Chris. Serenity lifted the sword with both hands.

"It's not that heavy," Serenity said. She got off the chair and put the sword on the table. She then gathered a few pillows and a blanket off her bed then climbed up onto the table with Chris. They laid the blanket out and laid down on it, with the pillows all around them. Serenity pulled Excalibur over to them and held it by the handle. Chris opened the book. He read aloud while Serenity followed with her eyes.

They felt like the two luckiest kids in the world; reading about the Knights of the Round Table, on top of The Round Table. Or reading about all the battles King Arthur fought with Excalibur, with Excalibur between them. They read the book until they fell asleep, after dark. Re and Aurora came to check on them. At first Aurora disapproved of the Table and the Sword being misused.

"Now why would these two have Excalibur?" Re wanted to know. "I though you made it clear that sword wasn't to be touched."

"Re, the first friend Serenity ever had is gone," said Aurora. "I think we can forgive her this once." She went over and picked up the book that was resting on the pillow.

"Besides," she said, holding it up. "I think it's appropriate." Re smiled when he saw what book they were reading.

"That does kind of make sense," he said. Aurora put the book on the table. She then nuzzled both children and the two dragons left them in peace.

"I reckon Serenity will have a really hard time without Ruby," Re said as they went down the hall.

"Yes," Aurora agreed. "But we can make things easier and less painful by being there for her, just like he was." Re nodded in agreement.

"I suppose the Round Table's hers now," he said.

"As long as she takes care of it," said Aurora. "But I can foresee that the table is in good hands. It will play a big roll in her young life, same goes for Excalibur." Re chuckled.

"It's not everyday a girl seven years old gets _The_ Round Table," he said. Aurora smiled at the thought. They continued through the castle towards their room.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As Aurora had predicted Serenity had a very rough time with the loss of Ruby. Every night she would have nightmares of Ruby coming out of the thorns, torn up and dying. She would relive the last night she had with him; snuggling close to his chest, wrapped up in is wings, listening to his heartbeat. Then the next second he was gone, turned into golden stardust and taken up to the Dragon Heaven. She woke up each morning and discovering that it wasn't just a dream. Aurora came to visit her every morning to see how she was doing. Serenity was always happy to see her and it made her feel less lonely. After breakfast she would go hang out with Chris. They often spent the days either on Chris's giant bead bag or on Serenity's round table. It helped her recover from her loss. She never took the locket off, not even when she went to bed. Before she fell asleep she would look at the picture of her and Ruby, and told him that she loved him.

The days grew into weeks, the weeks into months, and soon a whole year went by. It was a slow one for Serenity. She was still getting tortured by her nightmares. At first she kept them to herself. But then Aurora, who didn't miss a trick, noticed that she fell asleep even before the sun set. It made her wonder how Serenity slept every night.

Serenity was sitting on top of her table one evening, by herself. Chris had gone up to his room already, as he wasn't feeling well. Serenity was worried about him of course, but Aurora said that he would be fine in a few days. However that didn't stop the fact that she had no one to play with that day. She sat on the edge of the table with Excalibur on her lap. The sword was her only source of company while Chris was recovering. She only took it down when she felt lonely, the rest of the time it was hung on the wall in its glass box. Suddenly there came a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she called, still looking at the sword. The door opened. She turned to see Tenor standing in the doorway. This shocked her. This was the dragon she almost never saw. She passed the other royal dragons in the hall, but she only saw Tenor in the Great Hall once a week.

"Hello," she said. "Haven't seen you around much."

"I'm nocturnal," Tenor explained. "I only come out at night." He walked up to her and sat on his haunches. When he spotted the sword in her lap he raised his eyebrows.

"That sword isn't a toy you know," he said.

"No, it's company," Serenity said. "Aurora said it's a magic sword, so I feel like it can hear me."

"Ruby said when he met you, your only source of company was a rat," Tenor said.

"Yes Mr. Whiskers," said Serenity.

"Anyway, Re wants to see you in his room," Tenor said. Serenity looked shocked.

"I haven't done anything wrong have I?" she asked. Tenor looked surprised.

"Oh, no," he said. "He just wants to talk to you." Serenity put the sword on the table and got off. She put the sword back in its place then followed Tenor out the door and up through the castle. They passed other dragons who were visiting the Castle Museum and/or Castle Library. They went higher and higher, until they were at the very top of the tallest tower. They went up a winding ramp, to a huge room. It was a round, white, cone-shaped room, with nothing but windows. A large, round, white bed sat in the middle of the room and a sitting area with sliver leather sofa, love seat, and two armchairs on one side of the room. Serenity looked around, out all the windows. She could see for miles in any direction.

"Wow, I haven't seen this room before," she said.

"It's Re and Aurora's sleeping chambers," said Tenor. "The hight and all the windows let them see whats going on in the area." At that moment Re flew through on of the windows, which was open, and landed next to the bed.

"Hello," he said. "Thank you for coming." He folded his wings.

"You wanted to see me your majesty?" Serenity asked, timidly. Re noticed right away.

"You don't have to be afraid," he said. "You've done nothing wrong. I just want to get you riding again. You haven't flown in over a year." Serenity burst into tears again.

"That's because my dragon is dead," she sobbed. Re nuzzled her gently.

"I know I'm sorry," he said. Serenity hugged him. He laid down on the white carpet and she hugged his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. Tenor went back to his room to finish his nap. Re wrapped his wings around Serenity, feeling sorry for her.

"Do you want to fly again?" he asked. Serenity considered as she relaxed. She remembered flying over the mountains and trees on Ruby's back.

"It might help," Re said. "I would like to take you and Chris out to see the world. Would you like that?"

"Where would we go?" Serenity asked.

"Oh, lots of places," said Re. "And see all sorts of animals you have never heard of."

"Like what?" Serenity asked.

"Well, like penguins," said Re. "Or zebras."

"What are penguins?" asked Serenity.

"They're kind of like chickens only more impressive," said Re. "And zebras are horses with black and white stripes." Serenity thought these animals sounded interesting.

"I don't want to replace Ruby," Serenity said.

"You won't replacing him," Re said. "He would want you fly again." Serenity sighed again. At that moment Aurora flew into the room.

"How's Chris?" Re asked.

"Better," said Aurora. "He'll be up and about tomorrow."

"Good, we can take off sooner than I thought," Re said. Serenity gripped her locket deep in thought. Aurora noticed.

"What's wrong Serenity?" she asked.

"I want to go on this trip," Serenity said. "But I don't want to replace Ruby."

"Flying on another dragon isn't replacing him," Aurora said. "Chris rides different dragons all the time."

"Oh, okay," said Serenity. Suddenly another dragon flew into the room. He was slightly taller than Re and Aurora. He had glittering green scales, large blue wings, and gold talons, spines, horns, and eyes. He landed next to the bed and folded his wings. Even though Serenity had never met this dragon before, she knew exactly who he was.

"Hello Father," said Aurora. Draco nuzzled her.

"Hi Draco," Serenity said timidly. Draco turned and looked at her.

"So, you're Serenity," he said. "Ruby speaks highly of you."

"You've seen him?" Serenity said.

"Yes," Draco said. "He told me all about you, and I'm very sorry for all you've been through."

"Can I see him?" Serenity asked. "Please?" Draco sighed. He was very tempted to give Ruby back to her.

"I'll tell you what," he said. "Ruby told me that you made him a promise. You told him you would go on living, you'd grow into a beautiful young woman, and be the happiest you could. If you keep that promise for as long as you can, then I will bring Ruby back. Is that a good deal?" Serenity thought for a few minuets.

"And I'll even help you keep it," Draco said.

"You will?" Serenity asked.

"Yes," Draco said. "You'll be back in Ruby's wings before you know it." Serenity smiled and got to her feet. Draco lowered his head and she petted his snout. She instantly felt better in the presence of the Dragon God. Draco used his magic to put a saddle on his back and a collar with reins around his neck. The saddle was navy blue with green and gold embroidery, the collar matched. He knelt down and Serenity climbed onto his back.

"Thank you my lord," Re said. Draco gave him a big smile. Then he to his feet and flew back out the window. Serenity held on tight as they soared over the lagoon. Draco used his magic as a safety harness. His flying was very smooth and powerful. He flew over the city of Bluegreen. All the dragons he passed greeted him warmly. Serenity waved at the other dragons. Then he went back to the lawn and landed. Serenity climbed off his back. She had missed flying, and forgotten how fun it was.

"Will you come with us to tour the world?" she asked Draco.

"Of course," he said. They went back inside. Then a thought came to Serenity and she went right back outside.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked, following her.

"Do you know the way to Bluegreen Hospital?" Serenity asked.

"Yes," Draco said. Serenity got back on him.

"I want to talk to Vitamin about something," she said. Draco spread his wings and took off. He flew to one of the tall buildings of the city and landed again on the front lawn. A large flagpole stood next to the front doors. It held two flags; the first and largest flag was the Draconian flag, and the second one was dark red and bore a symbol that was similar to the Caduceus, except instead of two serpents entwined around a staff, it was two eastern dragons entwined around the Cup of Life. Serenity dismounted and they went into the hospital. When the Healer Dragons saw Draco they bowed to him as they passed. Then one dragon, who Serenity recognized as Aspirin.

"What can we do for you my lord?" she asked. Draco turned to Serenity.

"I want to talk to Vitamin," she said.

"I'll go get him," said Aspirin. She turned and ran off. Draco saw that Vitamin wasn't busy, and made sure he stayed so. A few minuets later Vitamin came up to them looking both happy and confused.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked. Draco looked at Serenity again.

"Vitamin I want to be a healer like you," she said at once. Vitamin looked surprised.

"You sure?" he asked. Serenity nodded.

"I want to be there for other dragons, like Ruby was for me," she said. "And I feel like if I had been a healer sooner I could have saved him." Vitamin saw the tears in her eyes.

"There was nothing you could've done," he said softly. "He was too badly damaged." Serenity gripped her locket again.

"I still want to do it," she said. "For him." Vitamin looked at Draco. The Dragon God nodded his approval.

"Alright," Vitamin said. "You'll start when you come back."

"Thank you Vitamin," said Serenity. The Healer Dragon went back to work and Serenity and Draco went back to the castle.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The next evening Serenity, Chris, and their dragons gathered in the entrance. Tenor and Alto decided that they would stay behind and run the country. When Serenity told the other dragons about her decision to be a Dragon Healer they were very excited.

"You're going to make a lot of friends doing that," said Re.

"I want to do it for Ruby," said Serenity. "He was always there for me and I wasn't able to be there for him." At that moment Draco joined them, all saddled up.

"Wow, Draco's your new riding dragon?" Chris asked, surprised.

"He's not my riding dragon," said Serenity. "I'm just riding him until I get Ruby back. You can ride with me if you want, I don't want you to feel jealous." They both got on Draco's back and all the dragons went outside. They spread their wings and took off. They headed northwest over the ocean. They flew in formation with Re at the front.

"So where are we going first?" Chis asked.

"We're going to the town Serenity used to live in," Re said. "Perhaps they came to their senses."

"I don't want to go back there," said Serenity. "They beat me with a shovel."

"Maybe they're sorry," said Aurora. "Maybe they want you back."

"But if they want me back then I won't see you guys again," Serenity said.

"Ah, I'm sure we can work something out," said Re. They picked up the pace and soon lost sight of Draconia.

They soared over the ocean. Chris and Serenity looked out for wildlife. They saw many sea birds. They stayed clear of the dragons to avoid getting eaten. Then, down in the water, a huge shadow swam beneath the dragons and birds. The birds all flew away in fear of this thing. Then a large, black fin emerged from the water.

"What's that?" Serenity asked, scared.

"That's Shark," said Chris. "She's the oldest and most dangerous dragon on Earth. Like Mom and Draco, she has the gift of magic. She's also one of the only dragons that are all black like Uncle Tenor."

"What kind of dragon is she?" Serenity asked.

"She's a Whale Dragon," said Chris. "It looks like a cross between a plesiosaur and a whale. They live in the ocean and in freshwater lakes and rivers." They looked back down at Shark as she came up for air. The dragon was massive, twice the size of a Blue Whale.

"Is she going to hurt us?" asked Serenity.

"She normally has no problem killing humans," Chris said. "But since we're with Draco and the Draconian King and Queen, she won't harm us." Shark blew her spout then went back under, with a wave of her massive, black, whale's tail. The three royal dragons flew high above the clouds and picked up the speed.

An hour later they were flying over the human world. They flew over mountains and villages. The people of the villages looked up when the dragons passed. Then they homed in on one of the villages. Serenity recognized it as the town near her old house. She gripped the saddle. The dragons flew low over the village then looked for a place to land in the woods. They landed next to the lake near Serenity old house. The two kids got off Draco's back.

"How about you go say hi to your parents while we set up camp," said Draco.

"Will they be happy to see me?" Serenity asked.

"My magic only works on dragons," said Draco. "So I can't tell. You will have to see for yourself." Serenity looked nervous. She turned and headed for her house. Chris started to follow but Aurora stopped him.

"She should do this alone," said the Queen. "She'll call us if she needs help." Chris reluctantly turned and helped set up camp.

Serenity walked through the woods. She somehow knew the way by heart. She soon came to the clearing where the house stood. She peeked out from behind the tree at the house. She saw her old family doing their daily chores. The two sisters were learning to ride side saddle, Thomas was grooming his horse, and the mother and father were weeding the garden. Serenity stepped out into the open and approached them cautiously. When the family saw her they stopped what they were doing. The father looked like a volcano about to blow, he gripped the handle of the shovel he was using to uproot the weeds.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted. "I thought I got rid of you years ago."

"I thought maybe you changed your mind," Serenity said. The father growled.

"Well we didn't," shouted the mother. "Thomas seize her." Thomas dropped his curry comb and ran up to her. Serenity tried to run but he caught up to her and pinned her down. He placed a hand over her mouth so she couldn't call for her dragons. Thomas dragged her over to his parents and threw her to their feet. The father grabbed her by the hair.

"Maybe you need one more reminder," he hissed. He let her go so he could get the shovel ready.

"If we see you agin after this, we will kill you," he said. Then he swung the shovel into her head, hard and fast. She fell to the ground unconscious.

"Get her out of here," the father ordered. Thomas grabbed Serenity by both the legs and dragged her to the edge of the forest. He threw her into the shrubs then when back to his horse.

Chris and the dragons went to look for Serenity when she didn't come back. Chris got on Re's saddle and they went through the trees. Draco and Aurora searched from the air.

"Serenity?" Chris called. "Where are you?" Re broke into a trot as they neared the clearing where the house was. The sun was setting fast, and they wanted to find her before they couldn't see anything. Suddenly Re stepped on something that wasn't fallen branches. He looked down and saw Serenity laying on the ground unconscious. Her face was bruised, broken, and bleeding.

"Serenity?" Re said shocked. Chris got off and knelt beside her while Re sent up a fire signal. After a few minuets Aurora and Draco landed beside him. When they saw Serenity they gasped.

"What happened to her?" Aurora asked. Draco gently nudged her, careful not to touch her face.

"Is she alive?" Re asked. Draco nodded.

"Just barely," he said. "I would use my magic, but she's human and my magic won't work on her." Chris looked really upset.

"Is she going to die?" he asked.

"If we get her to a healer soon she'll be okay," said Draco.

"Maybe that town has one," Re said. "We should at least ask."

"We're dragons," said Aurora. "They might try to kill us."

"We have to try," said Re. "If we want to save her." He looked down at Serenity.

"I want to come," Chris said. "Maybe they won't be as hostile if they see me." Re and Aurora looked at each other. Then they looked down at Serenity, she stayed were she was.

"Okay," said Re. "Chris and I will go, you two stay here in case she wakes up." Aurora and Draco nodded. They laid down on either side of Serenity. Chris got back on Re and they took off. They flew over the house, and headed for the village. They flew towards the town square. The people looked up as the dragon flew over and landed in the middle of their town.

"Please, we need your help," Chris said. "My friend is unconscious and she'll die if she doesn't get help." An old man came up to them. He carried a staff and walked upright.

"I am the leader of this village," he said. "Why should we help a dragon?"

"She's not a dragon," said Chris. "She's a human girl, and she's my only human friend." Just then a woman came up beside the man.

"Where is she?" she asked. "I'm the healer."

"Wait, that's a dragon standing there," the man said.

"Oh, he's not hurting anyone," the woman said. "I'm sure we can see passed the evil of dragons this once. Three dragons have flown over our village in the past and not one of them caused any trouble." The man sighed. The woman turned to Chris.

"Can you bring me to your friend?" she asked. Re knelt down and the woman got on his back behind Chris. Re got to his feet.

"Hold on tight," Chris said. Re spread his wings and took off. He flew back to where the others were. Serenity was still unconscious. Re knelt down again and the woman got off. Aurora and Draco watched her carefully.

"She's here to help," Re said. The woman knelt beside Serenity and examined her.

"Did you see what happened?" she asked.

"No, we found her like this," said Aurora. "We sent her to see her family who live in that house in that clearing, but then she didn't come back and we came to look for her."

"Oh, poor thing," the woman said. "I didn't know that family had four children, they always said they have three."

"She was the outcast," said Re. "They kicked her out when she was five, I guess they still don't want her."

"Well, we should get her back to our village," the woman said. "She's failing fast." She gently picked Serenity up and Draco knelt down. The woman put Serenity onto his saddle. Draco got to his feet.

"You know, you dragons are really fine creatures," the woman said, as she got back on Re behind Chris. "In fact I can see your kind being very useful for our village and maybe others." The dragons took off and headed for the village.

"Unfortunately we have our own lands to return to," Re said. "We can't live in your village."

"You have your own country?" the woman asked. "Well, then maybe you can ask your ruler to send a few dragons to our village."

"Or you can ask me yourself," Re said. "And I don't see any harm in sending a few."

"Great, you can negotiate with my husband while I patch up your friend," the woman said. The dragons landed in the town square. Re knelt down and Chris and the woman dismounted. The town leader came up to them.

"You are not welcome here," he said pointing at the three dragons. "Your kind is full of nothing but trickery."

"Come on David," said the woman. "They just want this girl to be okay." David turned his attention to Draco's back where Serenity still lay.

"What's wrong with her?" he barked.

"She got hit with something," said the woman. "And if I don't help her she'll die. And maybe these dragons can help around the village while she's healing."

"We don't need dragons," David snapped. "What can they ofer us?"

"A lot of things," said Aurora. "Protection, friendship, and..." She reached into a pocket in her saddle and pulled out a huge bag of gold coins. She thew it to David and he caught it. He opened up the back and saw the gold.

"There's plenty more where that came from," said Aurora. "If you had dragons on your side you could save hundreds of lives." Hearing this the towns people began whispering among themselves. Chris went over to Draco to check on Serenity. She still hadn't moved.

"Careful, her face is badly damaged," the woman warned. "Come, we should bring her inside." Draco knelt down and the woman gently picked Serenity up. Chris followed her into a large house. David turned to the dragons.

"You have until the girl is healed," he said. "Then you must go."

"That's all we want," Re said. David handed the bag of gold back.

"Keep it," said Aurora. "We value our friends and family, not gold."

"Fine," said David. He put the bag in his pocket. The three dragons flew to the top of the house where Serenity was taken. They sat there to wait.

The next day the dragons helped around the village while the healer attended to Serenity's face. Chris stayed near her to keep her company in the strange house. The village grew used to their guests and didn't mind that three of them were dragons. Even David grew to like having them around. The three of them gathered at the well to take a short break.

"One of us should check on Serenity," Draco said. "My animal instincts tell me she'll wake up soon."

"I'll go," said Aurora. "Father, would it be a good idea to send dragons to this village and have more dragon riders?"

"It's a great idea," Draco said. "As long as those humans never find out where Draconia actually is, that will lead to disaster. They have to be brought to the country by a dragon like Serenity and Chris were." Aurora nodded. Then she spread her wings and flew towards where the two children were. Draco turned to Re.

"Let's get these negotiations out of the way," he said. "Then we can be on our way."

"I guess Serenity's all ours," Re said as they looked for David. "Her family made it quite clear they don't want her."

"Poor child," Draco said. "I wonder what she was hit with." At that moment they located David.

"David," Re called. "It sounds like you and your village want to have dragons in your village, and I can send a few when I get back to Draconia."

"Yes, but if we're going to have dragons here they better behave themselves," David said.

"My dragons will behave themselves, if the humans will too," said Re. "Your humans are welcome to come to my country as long as they come on the back of a dragon."

"Deal," David said. "I reckon if two eight year old children can learn to ride dragons, than anyone can do it." Re smiled.

"I will send them as soon as Serenity is home safe and on the mend," he said. At that moment Aurora came up to them.

"Serenity's awake," she said. "But she's in a lot of pain." Re and Draco turned to David.

"Excuse us," Re said. The three dragons went back to the house and the healer let them in. They saw Serenity laying on a bed, her face covered in bandages. She looked over at the dragons as they came in.

"What happened?" Re asked.

"My father hit me in the head with a shovel again," Serenity said. "And he said if I go back there again he'll kill me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Serenity," said Re. "I guess that didn't turn out the way I had expected."

"How do you feel?" Aurora asked.

"My face hurts," Serenity said. "It hurts to move it."

"Would you like to go home?" Aurora asked. Serenity nodded.

"We haven't been traveling very much," she said.

"That's okay," said Re. "There will be more trips in the future."

"Why would that nice family hit this poor girl with a shovel?" the healer asked.

"This is actually the second time they did that," said Draco. "The first time she was only five years old."

"Don't you worry we'll make them pay for this," said the healer. "Child abuse is banned in this village."

"Thank you," said Aurora. "Do you think you can ride Serenity?"

"Yes," Serenity said. She slowly got up with some help from Draco. They went outside.

"But, there is some good news," said Aurora.

"What?" asked Serenity.

"We're getting more dragon riders," said Aurora.

"Really?" said Serenity as Draco helped her onto his back.

"Yup," said Re. "Shortly after you're fully recovered."

"So we won't be the only humans on Draconia anymore?" Chris asked as he got on Re.

"That's right," said Aurora. "You two will be able to show people how fun it is to be a dragon rider."

"Will they live in the castle?" asked Chris.

"No, they will get their own island," said Re. "I will give them one of my volcanic islands, Mt. Earth."

"We look forward to having dragons in our lives," said the healer. "And if it's not to much, we would like to share this with the other villages."

"Please do," Re said. "We want the world to know that dragons are no different from other animals." The healer smiled.

"I hope you get well Serenity," she said. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"Thank you," Serenity said, she acted like it hurt her to talk. The dragons took off and headed for home.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Back in Draconia Serenity was submitted to Bluegreen hospital where Vitamin and Healer Dragons took care of her face. While she was in the hospital Re and the other royal dragons found volunteers to go to the village and help them. About twenty dragons took off. They went to the village where they felt welcomed. The dragons found riders and didn't hesitated to work as a team helping around the village. David and his wife brought in Serenity's family for questioning. They admitted to hitting Serenity with a shovel. As punishment David shut down their horse rental business and made them caretakers for the dragons. The riders flew their dragons to neighboring villages and helped there as well. It didn't take long for the dragons to become quite popular. There were of course those humans who wanted nothing to do with dragons, and those dragons who wanted nothing to do with the humans.

Before long riders came to Draconia and were directed to Mt. Earth where they built themselves a village at the base of the volcano. They adapted quite nicely. The riders gone on very well with their dragon companions. Some of the dragons could speak Latin and could talk with their riders. The dragons who couldn't speak Latin had to communicate with their riders with expressions and body language. Serenity and Chris were the only humans who could speak Dragontongue. Serenity was only in the hospital for a two weeks, when she got out she started learning to be a Dragon Healer. Vitamin showed her all he knew about dragon anatomy, medicine, and first aid. She studied the books on dragon anatomy from the library.

Chris meanwhile he decided he wanted to be a knight like the ones that sat at the Round Table. Re and Tenor took up teaching him to fence with swords and shoot arrows from a bow. He sometimes spared with the two dragons while Alto and Aurora kept Serenity company. Whenever the two kids weren't studying their occupations they went dragon riding. More often then not they rode the same dragon, witch was usually Re. They flew all over the country. They also made friends with the other riders, and rode alongside them. The royal dragons continued to take the two kids out into the world to see the animals no human had seen yet; such as penguins, Narwals, and different kinds of seals.

Then when the two kids were nine years old the royal dragons decided to take them to the other side of the world that hadn't been discovered yet.

"What will we find there?" asked Serenity as they saddled the dragons.

"You will have to wait and see," said Re. "Our kind hasn't really ventured that far either."

"I thought if you went to far you'd fall over the edge of the Earth," Chris said.

"That's impossible," Tenor said. "The Earth is round."

"Round?" Chris said. "Like Serenity's table?"

"No, round like a ball," said Aurora. They went outside where they could take off. Draco and Alto decided to stay behind and run the country. Serenity and Chris mounted Re. The dragons spread their wings and took off. They headed west as fast as they could. Tenor took the lead as he was the best at navigating.

"So there are no humans on this land?" Serenity asked.

"Oh, I'm sure there's a few," said Aurora. "But this land won't be on any maps for centuries. There will soon be glittering cities and concrete highways."

They flew high over the ocean. The sun shone on their scales, making them shine like the ocean below. They sang songs as they flew further west. The sun slowly sailed across the sky. The Draconians saw plenty of wildlife down in the water. A pod of Orcas began breaching all around the dragons. There were many sea birds snatching fish from the water. The dragons snatched a few fish themselves.

It was night fall when they finally spotted the undiscovered land. Chris and Serenity looked up at the thousands of stars in the night sky. They spotted a few constellations.

"Look, there's the constellation Draco," Chris said. He pointed to a group of stars that was right next to the Big Dipper. The line up of the stars formed the shape of a dragon.

"That's the Dragon Heaven," Re said. "Each one of those stars is a galaxy, each galaxy as thousands of solar systems, with zillions of planets."

"Ruby's up there isn't he?" Serenity said.

"Yes he is," Re said. "He's watching you every day from up there."

"Hey Mama," Chris said.

"Yes Chris?" Aurora answered.

"Since Serenity and I aren't dragons, dose that mean we don't go to the Dragon Heaven?" Chris asked.

"Well, seeing as you have known no other family," Aurora said. "And you've been a good kid, I think Father will let you in. As for Serenity, I'm probably going to sound barbaric saying this, but I wouldn't be surprised if Serenity's original family went to Hell for what they did. I'm sure Father will have no problem letting her in as well." Chris and Serenity smiled at each other. The dragons flew over the mountains of the undiscovered land. Tenor was almost invisible in the dark, except for his glowing green eyes.

Soon they began looking for a place to land. Re spotted a clearing in a very dense part of the forest. He flew towards it and landed. Aurora and Tenor landed next to him. Aurora used her magic to make a fire pit and Re lit it. The dragons sat around the fire, Serenity and Chris sat next to Aurora. She cooked them trout for dinner. After they ate their dinner Serenity and Chris made themselves comfortable next to Aurora. It was a nice enough night that they didn't need a tent or sleeping bags. They just slept on bed rolls with Aurora's wings for a blanket. Just before they fell asleep they heard loud howling from somewhere nearby. Chris and Serenity sat up in alert.

"What's making that sound?" Serenity asked.

"Wolves," said Aurora. "They live in packs led by an alpha. They're predators like us."

"Will they bother us?" Chris asked.

"I don't think so," said Aurora. "No animal would dare anger three, fire breathing dragons." Comforted by this thought the two kids laid back down and fell asleep. The dragons followed suit, including Tenor who was so jet lagged he didn't care that he was nocturnal. Aurora curled up around her two wards and fell asleep in minuets.

Serenity slept for almost the whole night. Then she was woken up by loud sniffing and panting. She felt rough fur and sharp claws touching her skin. She opened her eyes to see several large wolves surrounding her. They growled and panted. Serenity screamed as loud as she could. This caused the wolves to attack. They sank their teeth into her flesh and left huge gashes in her skin with their claws. She bashed the wolves with her fists. They didn't give up so easily. She kept screaming and calling for help. After ten minuets of fighting she managed to escape the wolves. She got to her feet and ran as fast as she could. It was pitch black in the forest, Serenity kept running into the trees. She had no idea which direction the dragons were in. But she kept running and calling for them. She wasn't wearing any shoes, so her dash through the forest was agonizing. She was bleeding all over and it made her lightheaded. She was completely helpless and alone. She continued running for her life, with the wolves hot on her trail.

Chris and the dragons were woken up by Serenity's screams. The dragons got to their feet.

"Where's Serenity?" Chris asked.

"The wolves must have got her," said Re.

"How did they get her?" asked Aurora.

"We can worry about that later," Re said. "Right now we need to find her." He knelt down so Chris could mount him. They took off and flew in the direction the scream had come from.

"It's no fair Mama, why do bad things always happen to her?" Chris asked.

"I don't know Chris," Aurora said. "Bad luck." They kept their eyes open for Serenity. Tenor, who could see in the dark, spotted her first.

"There she is," he announced. They followed his gaze and saw her running through the trees, from a pack of at least fifteen wolves. She was screaming for help.

"We can go down and rescue her," Chris said.

"No we can't," Re said."The trees are dense, we have to wait until she's out in the open."

"We can't abandon her," Chris cried.

"Don't worry we're not," said Aurora. They watched as Serenity ran for her life through the trees. She could hear the wolves behind her. She was running strait for a clearing that was filled with grass. She put on a last burst of speed and came out into the open. That's where the wolves caught up to her. They flooded the clearing and cut her off on all sides to keep her from escaping. They growled and gnashed their teeth. Then a large black wolf pounced on her, followed by the rest of his pack. They went back to biting and scratching her up. She began to loose consciousness from loss of blood. But she was no longer afraid, she could almost feel Ruby's wings around her already.

"Dad hurry they're going to kill her!?" Chris cried. Re let out a loud roar as he swooped towards the clearing. The wolves stopped their attack and looked up. The three dragons dive bombed the wolves. They stood their ground, protecting their kill. Tenor shot a plasma blast at the ground near the wolves, and that made them scatter. Once they were long gone the dragons landed. Chris jumped off his father's back and ran to Serenity, who was unconscious. She looked like the victim in a horror story, covered in blood and on the brink of death. Aurora lowered her head to see if the poor girl was still breathing.

"She's alive," the Queen said after a while. "But I don't know for how long." She laid down and helped Chris get Serenity onto her saddle. Chris got back on Re and they took off, heading for home.

Serenity woke up on a beautiful beach. The sun was shining brightly and the ocean broke along the shore. She sat up an looked around. She couldn't see anyone. The beach was lined with palm trees and ferns. She had on a light blue shirt and kaki shorts, she was also barefoot. Suddenly she heard breathing behind her, and tensed up.

"Hello Serenity," said a very familiar voice. Serenity turned to see Ruby standing there smiling at her. She jumped to her feet and ran to him.

"Ruby!" she cried as he hugged him. He laid down on the sand and Serenity cuddled against him. She buried her face into his scales.

"I've missed you so much," she sobbed. Ruby wrapped his wings around her and held her close.

"I've missed you too," Ruby said.

"How did I get here?" Serenity asked. "I was just attacked by wolves."

"And you were saved by dragons," Ruby said. "Your spirit is up here while your body heals, but it doesn't look like it will this time. Come see." Ruby got to his feet, and Serenity followed him into the trees. They arrived at a large pool that was a very clear blue. Serenity looked into the water. She saw herself on a hospital bed surrounded by Healer Dragons. Chris and his family were in a waiting room. They looked really worried. Serenity turned to Ruby.

"I'm I dead?" she asked.

"That's up to you," Ruby said. "You lost a lot of blood, and the Healer Dragons don't have any human blood to replace yours."

"So I could go back if I want to?" Serenity asked.

"Yes," said Ruby. Serenity hugged him again. He nuzzled her gently. They watched the figures move in the pool.

"I don't want her to die Mama," Chris was saying.

"We don't either," said Aurora. "But there's nothing we can do. The Healer Dragons have no human blood to give to her."

"What about dragon's blood?" Re asked. "Maybe we can save her life with dragon's blood."

"That might not work," said Aurora.

"I want to try anyway," Re said. "Dragon's blood is very close to human blood." He called in Vitamin and told him his plan. The Healer Dragon was deep in thought.

"We'll try it," he said finally. "But don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work." Re nodded.

"You can use my blood," he said as he left the room. Serenity turned to Ruby.

"I guess I have to make a decision don't I?" she said. "I do want to be with you forever, but then Chris will be as sad as I was when I lost you." She buried her face into Ruby's scales while she thought it over.

"Well whatever you choose, I will always love you," Ruby said. Serenity looked him in they eye. She had made her choice.

"I will go back," she said. "I know I will be with you again, but Chris won't have anyone if I stay here" Ruby smiled and nuzzled her.

"I love you Ruby," she said.

"I love you too," he answered. "We'll be together again. I'm very proud of you for wanting to go back for Chris. I know this wasn't an easy choice to make." They held each other tightly. Knowing that this was the last time they would see each other for a while, they made it last as long as they could.

"I'll keep my promise," Serenity said. "And will think of you all the time."

"I know you will," Ruby said.

"I'm happy that we could part on these more positive terms," Serenity said.

"So am I," Ruby chuckled. "You should hurry, they're just about done giving you dragon's blood."

"Okay," said Serenity. She let him go. It was very hard for her; she loved Ruby, but she loved Chris and his family as well.

"You haven't seen the last of me," Ruby said. "I guarantee it." Serenity smiled at him. Then she turned and waded into the pool. She took one last look at Ruby, before she fell asleep.

She woke up in the hospital, covered in bandages. The room was lit by glowing crystals. She turned her head to see Re and Aurora laying on the floor asleep. Chris was laying on a spare bed. Serenity sat up and leaned on her pillows.

"Aurora, Re," she said. Both dragons woke up.

"Serenity you're okay!" Aurora said happily. "How do you feel?"

"Sore," Serenity said. "What happened?"

"You lost a lot of blood," Re said. "The Healer Dragons said you weren't going to make it. But I talked them into using my blood."

"So you have dragon's blood in your veins," said Aurora.

"Will I turn into a dragon?" Serenity asked.

"No, but you will have some of the advantages of a dragon," Re said, with a chuckle. "Like; you will be able to withstand extreme climates and temperatures, you will heal from injuries must faster, and once you reach the age of twenty-one you will stop aging. Of course, this also gives you an allergy to eels."

"That's okay I never liked eels anyway," Serenity said. "Dragon's blood, so that makes me human in form and dragon in blood."

"Yes, and my magic will work on you," Aurora said. "So will Father's." Serenity laid back down on her pillows. Aurora then woke up Chris, he was so happy that Serenity was okay.

He stayed awake until Serenity was discharged from the hospital a week later. They went right back into their lives. Chris continued to study combat and Serenity went back to studying dragon healing. Every time Chris got hurt in any little way Serenity would use her new skills to patch him up. She would also go on cave calls with Vitamin and his group. Though she was back to normal physically; there was one emotional scar that would effect her for the rest of her life, she was deathly afraid of wolves.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Time went by steadily. Chris and Serenity grew closer as friends. They would sleep over in each other's room; either they slept on Chris's giant bean bag or on top of Serenity's table. Serenity would often watch him in the sparing arena, when the Healer Dragons gave her days off. When she was working at the hospital she was now helping out with stitching up injuries. She also kept the recovering dragons company in their hospital beds. Vitamin added her to his cave call group. Serenity learned how to sew clothes, as it was good practice for stitching up wounds. Chris was learning to fight with all kinds of weapons; swords, axes, maces, spears, etc. He learned to fight off and on a dragon's back. He often got minor injuries and Serenity patched him up. Re told her that she wasn't to enter the arena while they were sparing. However, Chris would be defeated and would lay on the ground winded. Serenity would run into the arena and risked being trampled by one of the dragons, to help Chris to his feet. Re tried to keep his temper when this happened, but he often lost it and ordered her out of the arena. Serenity would go up to her room and sit on her table, alone, and read one of her favorite fairy tails, Cinderella. Chris would finish his training and go up to read books with her.

One day when they were twelve, Serenity was sitting in the spectator's area of the arena. She was by herself; Alto was out fishing, Tenor was asleep, and Re and Aurora were in the arena with Chris. He was mounted on his mom, while swinging a foil at Re. Serenity gripped the railing that surrounded the arena. Chris maneuvered Aurora around Re, still swinging his foil. The King lunged at Chris, teeth bared, claws out. Chris stabbed his foil right up Re's right nostril. Because the weapon wasn't sharp, Re only found it irritating. He shook his head violently and clawed at the foil, also trying to snort it out. Serenity laughed at him. Then Re swung his head towards Chris, and smacked the hilt of the foil into the side of his head. This caused Chris to fall sideways off the saddle and hit the ground, face down, with a thud. Re then pounced on him and held him down with his talons.

"You are so hard to take seriously with that up your nose," Aurora chuckled. Re glared at her. He got off Chris and tried to get the foil out of his nose. He was so focused on this he didn't see Serenity run into the arena towards Chris. She helped him to his feet, he leaned on her to regain his balance.

"That was funny, shoving it up his nose," she said.

"I was actually aiming for his eye," Chris said. "But, yeah that was funny." Just then Re caught Serenity's eye, and he looked like he was about to chase her out of the arena. She looked at the ground sadly, and left the arena.

"Why does she keep doing that?" Re asked when Serenity was out of earshot. "She's going to get herself killed."

"Why don't you go ask her yourself," Aurora said. "But try not to shout at her, she's been yelled at enough by her old family, not to mention being hit with a shovel." She gripped the foil in the talons and yanked it out of his nose. He grunted when it stung.

"Okay," Re said. He left the arena and went up to Serenity's room.

When he got to her door he wrapped his talons on the glass. Serenity was sitting on her table reading Cinderella. When she heard the knock she jumped in surprise.

"Come in," she sighed. Re opened the door and walked in. When Serenity saw who it was she closed her book and sat up straight.

"Hello your majesty," she said. "I'm sorry for what I did back there."

"It's okay," Re said. "But I do want to know why you do that, when I keep telling you to stay out of the arena." Serenity looked at the book in her hands and absentmindedly ran her fingers over the title.

"I just want to be helpful," she said quietly. Re took a deep breath. Then he nuzzled her shoulder.

"If you want to be more helpful you'll stay out of the arena," Re said. "You're only going to get yourself hurt or even killed."

"Yes sire," Serenity said. She sounded close to tears. Re thought for a few minuets.

"Have you seen the castle vaults?" he asked.

"No," Serenity said. "Chris was going to show me, but we got distracted." Re chuckled.

"How about we take a little trip down there," he said. "Just the two of us, I want to show you something."

"Okay," Serenity said. She stood up on the table and jumped onto Re's back. He turned and walked out of the room. Serenity clutched her book to her chest.

Re made his way through the castle. They didn't saw a word as they arrived at the entrance hall. Re cantered down the stairs. He stopped and took off his crown.

"Will you do me a favor?" he asked. "There's a medallion in this crown, will you pop it out." Serenity took the crown and looked at it.

"It's the crest," Re explained. Serenity carefully popped out the crest on the forehead out of the metal.

"What do I do with it?" Serenity asked. Re walked over to one of the suits of dragon armor. At a closer look Serenity saw a hole in the head plate. She reached over and placed the crest in the hole.

"Turn it," Re said. Serenity turned the crest and it heard it click. Re turned to face the center of the hall, in time to see the floor swing downward. Re walked up to the edge of the deep shaft.

"Hang on tight," Re said. Serenity gripped the handle on the saddle, she put the book in the saddle bag. Re then spread his wings and dove into the shaft. He dove for several feet before leveling out and landing of a ledge in front of a doorway. Re folded his wings. He walked through the doorway and down a long tunnel. He came out onto another ledge that overlooked a vast chamber, lit by glowing crystals. The chamber was filled with treasure. Gold, silver, copper and different kinds of gems. There were loads of different items; swords, shields, statues, thrones, jewelry, and coins. It formed mountains and valleys, and went on farther than the eye could see.

"Wow, that's a lot of shiny things," Serenity said.

"My family inheritance," Re said. He spread his wings and glided down onto one of the valleys of treasure. Serenity retrieved her book out of the saddle bags.

"Where did all this stuff come from?" she asked.

"Draco gave it to us," Re said. "Some items were made by dragons though." He knelt down and Serenity dismounted.

"This is why I don't charge rent to any of my citizens," Re said as he stood up. "Have a seat." He gestured with his wing to a silver throne. She sat down, placing the book on her lap.

"What book is that?" Re asked, laying down beside her.

"Cinderella," Serenity said. "I have a lot in common with her, right down to sleeping on the dirty floor."

"You don't sleep on a dirty floor anymore," Re pointed out.

"No," Serenity agreed. "But it is nice to know I'm not the only one who did."

"So, why do you think I'm showing you this treasure?" Re asked.

"Because you wanted to," Serenity said.

"Well yes," Re said. "But I show you this treasure, because you're apart of it. You and Chris are just as valuable, if not mor valuable than all the items in these vaults put together."

"These things are beautiful," Serenity said.

"Yes," Re agreed. "But I can afford to loose the things in these vaults. You're the one I can't bare to loose. I ask you to stay out of the arena because I don't want you to get hurt or killed, especially by me. I know you want to help, and I don't blame you in the slightest. But you can't help anyone if you're dead. If you want to help us, you'll have to keep yourself safe so you can go on helping others." Serenity sighed.

"You're right," she said. "I'm sorry for worrying you." Re smiled at her, but realized she wouldn't look him in the eye. He used the tip of his tail to gently lift her chin and forced her to look him in the eye.

"Can you promise me you won't put yourself in unnecessary danger?" he asked softly.

"Yes your majesty," Serenity said.

"And I'll promise you that I won't hurt Chris too badly," Re said. "He's just as valuable to me as you are."

"Okay," Serenity said. "He's part of the reason I run into the arena. I love Chris, and I always want to be sure he's okay."

"So do we," Re said. He gently placed his head in her lap. "You don't have to be the only one who checks to make sure he's okay." Serenity smiled at him and gently stroked his scaly face.

They sat there in silence for a few minuets. Then Re broke the silence.

"You wanna know one of the best things about you?" he said. "You could very easily be a spoiled brat, excuse my tongue, but you choose not to be. You ask for very little, and what little you do get you're very grateful for it."

"I've read what happens to spoiled brats," Serenity said. "Bad fortune will eventually catch up to them and hit them hard."

"Oh, I just remembered we're going on a hunting trip tomorrow in western Europe," Re said, changing the subject. "We'll spend three days out in the wilderness."

"Hunting?" Serenity said. "Oh, I forgot you dragons are predators."

"Yes," Re said. "So we should get to bed early tonight."

"Yes sir," said Serenity. She got off her chair and remounted him. She held her book firm. Re got to his feet.

"Don't you have things to hunt here in Draconia?" Serenity asked.

"Yes," Re said. "But there are certain animals not found here that are found other places. All we have are elk, wild pigs, buffalo, and birds. Out there we can hunt; other types of deer, goats, sheep, wild cows, and lots of fish." Re spread his wings and took off back towards the exit. He flew down the tunnel and back up the shaft.

He landed back up at the entrance hall. He turned the crest in its special keyhole and popped it back out. The secret door closed, turning it back into the floor of the entrance hall.

"Who's coming on this hunting trip?" Serenity asked, dismounting again.

"You, Chris, Tenor, Aurora and me," Re said. "Alto isn't a fan of the human world, so she'll be holding down the castle." The two of them walked back through the castle towards Serenity's room. The sun was setting. They arrived at her door which had been left open.

"Thanks for showing me that," Serenity said.

"You're welcome," Re said. "May today be a reminder of just how much you and Chris mean to us." Serenity went into her room and closed the door. Re headed for his own chambers.

The next day Chris, Serenity, and the three royal dragons gathered in Re and Aurora's chambers at the top of the castle. They had all the camping gear that the two kids would need out in the wilderness. Re also packed a hunting bow and arrows for Chris to use, it would be his first time learning to hunt. He was excited and hoped he would catch a big wild goat. When all the necessities were in place Chris and Serenity mounted Aurora. The dragons spread their wings and flew out the window. They flew in formation as they headed east. They flew high over the ocean. The dragons weren't wearing their armor or their crowns, the glint of the metal would give away their location to prey. They flew at high speed, hoping to find a place to land and set up camp before it became lunchtime.

In no time at all they spotted the shore of what would one day Great Britain. They flew over the coast, keeping their eyes out for human houses and farms. They spotted many villages, but ignored them. Then they were flying over high mountains with no humans in sight. Re spotted a clearing in a dense part of a forest that covered the mountains, not far from the coast. They landed one at a time and folded their wings. Aurora knelt down so the two kids could dismount.

"Where are we?" asked Chris.

"Ireland," said Aurora. "Not very big game animals here, there's red deer and bilberry goats. There's also seals and walruses."

"Seals?" Serenity said. "Seals are cute, especially the pups." Aurora used her magic to set up the tent, the fire pit, and camp chairs.

"When do we start?" Chris asked.

"This evening," said Re. "It's when the animals are tired and short of energy." He laid down on the grass. Serenity and Chris sat in their camp chairs.

They rested from their long flight until the sun began to go down. Then all three dragons readied themselves for their hunt. Chris put the quiver of arrows on his back and picked up the bow.

"Serenity, you will have to stay here and look after the campsite," Aurora said.

"By myself?" Serenity asked.

"Yes, it'll be too dangerous for you come on this hunt," Aurora said. "One thing you must never do is get in between a dragon and their prey, that's when they get really dangerous."

"How long will you be gone?" Serenity asked.

"We'll be back in the morning," Aurora said.

"All night?" Serenity said. "What if something gets me, like wolves."

"Nothing will get you," Aurora said. "I put a spell on the whole clearing so nothing will hear, see, or smell you. You'll be safe as long as you stay in the clearing. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Serenity said. She leaned back in her chair. Aurora nuzzled her lovingly.

"Try to get some sleep sweetheart," she said gently. "And stay safe." Serenity hugged the Queen.

"Mom, we can go now," Chris said. Aurora turned and joined the rest of the hunting party, after lighting the camp fire. Serenity curled up in the chair as Chris mounted Re.

"Wait Serenity's not coming?" Chris asked.

"No, she'll be safer if she stayed here," Re said.

"What other kinds of predators live here?" asked Chris, concerned for his friend.

"Wolves, foxes, and bears," said Re. "But the camp fire will keep them away. We better get a move on." He turned and vanished into the dense trees. The other two dragons followed him, and Serenity was alone. The dragons had left their saddle bags full of food and water. She rummaged through the saddle bags and pulled out a bag of marshmallows.

The sun went down and the forest turned black. The stars and moon came out and the clearing was lit by the camp fire. Serenity stayed in her chair too scared to go into the tent. She jumped at every little sound the forest made. She occasionally saw things moving in the trees and didn't know if it was the dragons returning or, something else. She roasted marshmallows until she was full. Then she put them back into the saddle bag. She glanced at the tent, wondering if she should make a dash for it. She got off her chair and walked slowly towards the tent. Just then she heard the trees rustling behind her and she ran for the tent and dashed into it. She got into her sleeping bag and pulled the blanket up to her chin. The wind kept rustling the trees and scaring her. Then she heard the unmistakable sound of howling wolves. She screamed and cocooned herself in her sleeping bag. She still had nightmares about being attacked by wolves, and whenever she heard them howling she panicked. She curled up in the sleeping bag shaking violently. Sleep was impossible, she was way to scared to even feel sleepy. She heard the howling again and curled up tighter.

But after a while the howling went away and the world grew quiet again. Serenity started to emerge from her sleeping bag. She was finally starting to fall asleep. She laid her head down on her pillow. The fire was going out. Serenity took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. Though she was still shaking from fear she fell asleep. The night dragged on without any signs of the dragons returning. Serenity kept waking up every one in a while from a bad dream. She heard all sorts of noises outside; from the rustling of trees, to the hoots of owls. She also heard more howling of wolves which triggered the bad dreams. It went on like that for hours.

Then when she woke up from her hundredth bad dream, it was morning. She crawled out of her sleeping bag and out of the tent. The sun shone down on the little clearing. Serenity was so happy to see the sun. She had made it through the night, nothing had gotten her, just like Aurora had promised. Serenity sat back in her chair to wait for the dragons and Chris to come back from their hunt.

She didn't have to wait long. In next to no time the three dragons were gliding towards the clearing. They were carrying whole loads of meat, pelts and antlers. They landed next to the tent and folded their wings. Serenity jumped off her chair and ran to them.

"Hey Serenity," Aurora said happily. Serenity hugged her Queen, very happy to see her. But when the blue dragon got a good look at Serenity she saw evidence of a sleepless nights.

"Did you have a rough night?" Aurora asked.

"Yes," Serenity said. "I kept hearing wolves howling."

"I'm sorry," said Aurora. "But you survived." Then Serenity turned to Chris as he got off Re's back.

"What did you catch?" Serenity asked him.

"I got a big red deer," Chris said excitedly. "One arrow to the chest and it was down. I brought back the antlers and pelt." He reach up to the pile of pelts and antlers on Re's back and pulled out a big red brown deer pelt and a set of large antlers.

"Wow," said Serenity. She touched the pelt. "It's really soft."

"I know and it's fine leather," Chris said.

"What are you going to do with it?" Serenity asked.

"I'm going to put the antlers on my wall," Chris said. "I don't know what I'm going to do with the pelt."

"Maybe you could make a coat out of it," Serenity said. "Shave the fur off and make a big trench coat out of the leather." Chris looked down at the pelt deep in thought.

"I don't know how to sew though," he pointed out.

"I can make it for you," Serenity said. "And I think there's enough to make it big enough so you can still wear it when you're older."

"You sure?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, it'll be good practice for dragon healing," said Serenity.

"Okay," Chris said happily. He handed the pelt to her and she folded it neatly.

"So what else did you guys catch?" Serenity asked.

"Ah, few goats, some more deer, and three seals," Chris said.

"I hope you didn't kill any little babies," Serenity said.

"No, dragons have a rule that says they can't harm females or babies," Chris said.

"Okay good," said Serenity.

"Hey, do you two want breakfast?" Aurora called. The two kids turned to the dragons who were gathering at the fire pit. The two of them smiled and ran to the dragons.

"Say, do you think you can make my coat black like Tenor's scales?" Chris asked.

"Sure," said Serenity. They sat in their chairs while Re and Aurora cooked some of the deer meat they brought back. Aurora noticed Serenity holding the deer pelt from the deer Chris caught.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do with that pelt?" the Queen asked.

"I'm going to make him a big coat out of it," Serenity said. "Do you have a pattern I could borrow?"

"I sure do," said Aurora. "I'll give it to you when we get home."

"It's going to be black like Tenor's scales," Chris said excitedly. Tenor perked his ears up at this.

"I didn't know my color was so popular all of a sudden," he said. He chuckled.

"They're probably the only humans in the world who don't fear the color black," said Aurora. "I foresee when the human race will be so unacceptable of the color black, that they will turn on their own kind. It will last a very long time."

"Wait there's humans out there that are black?" Tenor asked. "Never seen a black human before."

"They live in desert climates," Aurora said. "And they're not as black as you, but they are pretty close."

"Why will the humans turn on the ones that are black?" asked Serenity.

"Because humans almost never accept things that are different or new," Aurora said. "They want things to stay exactly the same."

"But dragons like different and new things," Chris said.

"If we didn't, we wouldn't have you two," said Aurora. Both kids blushed and smiled at each other. At that moment their breakfast was finished.

After breakfast the dragons took down the camping gear and put it away. Aurora used her magic to transport the meat back to the castle smoke house. Then Chris and Serenity got on Re and they took off, heading for home. They flew over the mountains and villages. They were quiet so they didn't attract any hostile humans. Once they cleared the western coast they started up conversations again.

"Hey Dad when are you going on your next scouting flight?" Chris asked.

"Next month," Re said.

"Can I come this time?" Chris asked. Re groaned.

"It's very dangerous," he said.

"Well I'm not going be a knight by just sitting in a castle all my life," Chris pointed out.

"I'll think about it," Re said with a sigh. The three dragons picked up speed as they lost sight of the human world and headed into Draconian waters.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

When they got home Serenity went right to work making Chris's coat. With some help from the dragons she scraped the fur off the pelt and dyed it black. Aurora gave her a pattern for a trench coat. She stayed in her room most of the time cutting out the pieces for the coat. Then she pulled out all the needle and thread she would need and began sewing the pieces together. She also made pockets for it and planned to put seal fur on the cuffs of the sleeves. She knew that when she was finished with it, the coat would be too big for him now. But she wanted it to last him a really long time. She worked around the clock. She wanted to finish it before Chris and Re left for the scouting flight. Chris had been nagging Re for weeks to let him go along, and after a while Re gave in and said he could go if he did everything he was told. Chris was very excited. He continued to spar in the arena with the dragons while Serenity sat in her room working on the coat. Aurora and Alto had given her little tips on how to make it as sturdy as possible.

Then the day before Re and Chris were to set out, Serenity finished the coat. She laid it out on the table to admire her work. She seemed satisfied. She folded it up and wrapped it in brown paper. She looked out her window. It was nighttime but the full moon shone as brightly as the sun. She picked up the parcel and left the room. She went through the castle to Chris's room. When she got there she knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the reply. Serenity opened the door and entered the room. When Chris saw who it was he smiled and got off the bed.

"Hey, haven't seen you around much," he said.

"Sorry, I wanted to finish this before you and Re left tomorrow," Serenity said, holding up the parcel.

"Wow, thanks," Chris said. "I'll open it upstairs." He lead the way up to his loft and out onto his balcony. There was a small table with two chairs on either side of it. They sat down and Serenity put the parcel on the table and pushed it towards him. He unwrapped the brown paper and pulled out the coat. He held it up and admired it, with an awed expression on his face.

"I know it seems a bit big," Serenity said. "But I made it like that so it would last you a really long time."

"Wow, it's awesome," Chris said. "I don't even care that it's too big, I'll make it work. Thanks so much."

"You're welcome," Serenity said. Chris looked at the black seal fur on the cuffs of the sleeves.

"Seal fur, that's nice," he said. Then he saw something stitched on the inside collar; To Chris, love Serenity. He smiled, touched. He stood up and put the coat on. It went all the way down to his ankles and the sleeves went clear past his hands. Serenity rolled the sleeves up for him so he could use his hands.

"Well, it looks good on you," she said.

"It's really cool, I'll wear it every time I go anywhere," Chris said. "Maybe you could make one for yourself."

"I will," Serenity said. "Later."

"How did you know my size?" Chris asked.

"I know you so well," Serenity said, getting to her feet. "And so dose your mom." She leaned on the railing of the balcony.

"Ah, that makes sense," Chris said.

"So what do you want to do when you get back?" Serenity asked. Chris thought a moment.

"Well, what book are you reading right now?" he asked.

"I'm still reading Cinderella," Serenity said. "I had to stop so I could work on that coat. Do you know how she got that name?" Chris shook his head.

"Her evil step mother made her sleep on the dirty floor," Serenity said. "She slept really close to the fireplace to stay warm, and she got covered in cinders." Then Chris changed the subject.

"Maybe when I become a knight and you become a dragon healer," he said. "We can travel the world and rescue dragons that need our help."

"Like if one get shot down by humans you go in and fight off the humans while I patch up the poor creature?" Serenity said.

"Yeah," Chris said. "We'd make the finest dragon riding team in history. I would be the knight for dragons, and you would be the angel."

"Aww what a nice thing to say," Serenity said bashfully. "And maybe if those dragons loose their homes to humans we can lead them here where they can be safe and free."

"Good idea," said Chris. "We'll make lots of friends doing that."

"We'll also be very unpopular among humans," Serenity said.

"Who cares," Chris said. "Humans have plenty of heroes out there for them, and the dragons don't have anyone to stick their necks for them." Serenity murmured in agreement. They both leaned on the railing of the balcony, looking out at the lagoon. Chris carefully put his hand on top of Serenity's. She looked down at their hands, smiling. Chris glanced out of the corner of his eye at her face. He saw the very thin scar on her cheek from when she was first hit with the shovel. The scar was almost invisible, and the only ones who knew it was there were the ones who saw the original cut.

"What are thinking about?" Serenity asked.

"I was just thinking about when you first came to this castle," Chris said. "All beaten and cut up. That was a long time ago."

"It was a long time ago," Serenity agreed. "Now I'm living in a castle, with a gold hearted king and queen as my guardians."

"And you are a lot prettier than you were then," Chris said. They both blushed and looked out at the lagoon again.

"Maybe we can make a sand castle on Royal Town Beach when you get back," Serenity suggested.

"Okay," said Chris. "And we can make a picnic. But for now we should get some sleep."

"We can have a sleep over on my table if you want," Serenity said. "Or on your bean bag."

"On your table," Chris said. "We had a sleep over on my bean bag last time." So they went back inside and headed for Serenity's room.

When they got there they climbed onto the table with pillows and blankets. They laid down on Chris's new coat. They fell asleep in seconds.

Early the next morning there came a knock on the door. The two kids woke up.

"Come in," said Serenity. The door opened and Re stuck his head in.

"There you are Chris," he said. "It's almost time to take off."

"Okay," Chris said, sitting up. "I'll be down in the entrance hall in ten minuets." Re nodded and closed the door. Chris and Serenity got off the table. They folded the blankets up and put them, and the pillows, back on the bed. Then Chris grabbed his coat and the two of them headed for the entrance hall.

When they got there Re and Aurora were waiting for them. They both halted their conversation and acknowledged the two kids.

"You ready to go?" Re asked his son.

"Yes," Chris answered. He lead the way out onto the lawn.

"How long will you be gone?" Serenity asked.

"Depends on the weather," Re said. "Two days, maximum." Chris turned to Serenity. She threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

"You'll be safe right?" she asked.

"Safe enough to get home," Chris said with a chuckle. Serenity let him go. Then she kissed him, right on the mouth. When they broke apart thought and emotions exploded inside Chris's head like fireworks. The two dragons looked at each other.

"I don't understand these human customs," Aurora whispered to Re.

"Neither do I," Re said. "But that's okay, I'm not going to loose sleep over it. Come on Chris, we better get going." Chris went over to his dad, as the dragon knelt down. Chris mounted him and Re got to his feet. Serenity stood next to Aurora. Re spread his wings and took off. He flew over the castle and vanished behind the spires. Serenity ran back inside and into the Great Hall. She ran to the big window and watched Re and Chris fly over the lagoon and over the Golden Gates. Aurora came up beside Serenity when the two were long out of sight.

"Chris wants to travel the world once we both finish our training and help dragons in need," Serenity said.

"That's a wonderful idea," said Aurora. "There are lots of dragons out there who certainly need it. Now you should be heading to the hospital. If you want that dream to come true you'll have to work hard."

"Yes ma'am," said Serenity. She went back upstairs to get dressed.

She worked all day at the hospital. When she told Vitamin her and Chris's plan, he too thought it was splendid. He taught her how to patch up injuries when she didn't have access to a hospital. He taught her everything she would need to know if she and Chris were going to live their dreams. She was very excited, especially when Vitamin said she was very close to becoming a dragon healer. All she really had left was a big test that she had to pass to become qualified.

Meanwhile Chris and Re flew from island to island, checking on villages that were very hostile. Re wanted to make sure they posed no threat to dragon heading for Draconia. He also wanted to make sure no dragons had been caught and were forced to lead the way to Draconia for invasion. Re would fly low over each island to search for any signs that the humans were planning invasion; men sharpening weapons, loading ships, or putting on suits of armor. When there was none to be seen Re and Chris went on their way. Chris did his part by watching Re's back incase one of the humans shot arrows or boulders at them. They flew over an armada, sailing away from Draconia. The sailors pointed up at Re as he flew by. They began talking to each other in a foreign tongue. Re paid no attention to them and picked up speed. They lost sight of the armada and headed farther north.

An hour later they were flying towards yet another island with a village on it. Re flew lower over the village. It was a Viking village, covered in dragon decor. They had statues of Viking warriors thrusting spears into the mouths of dragons. Both Re and Chris shuttered at the images. They zoomed over the village before the Vikings even noticed them. They soared passed what looked like a caged arena. Suddenly there came loud roars from inside the arena.

"Hey, I think there's dragons in there," Chris said. Re turned and landed at the entrance to the arena. It was blocked by a thick, wooden portcullis. Re snuck over to the leaver that opened the portcullis and pulled it. The gate opened and Re ran inside. The wall of the arena had doors set into it. Loud roars came from behind the doors. Re knelt down and Chris dismounted.

"Keep a lookout," Re whispered. Chris stayed at the gate and Re trotted over to the first door. He pulled the leaver next to the door, and the door opened. A red Gronckle buzzed out and exited the arena as fast as he could. Re also released a yellow Zippleback, an orange Nadder, and a blue Monstrous Nightmare. Once they were released the dragons thanked their king and flew away. Then Chris got back on Re and took off as well.

They finally headed home as the sun began to set. Chris pulled his coat around him as the temperature dropped. Up ahead dark storm clouds were closing in on them. Re decided to find a place to land and wait out the storm. Luckily he spotted a small island with a village on it. He headed right for it before the ocean got to violent. He steered well clear of the village and landed in a small clearing. There was a stone over hang that was perfect for keeping one dry. Chris dismounted and they both ducked under the over hang and laid down. Chris snuggled close to his father and Re draped his wing over him like a blanket. Outside the storm hit with full force; rain, thunder, lighting, and howling winds. Re was protected by his thick scales and armor, so he had no problems shielding Chris from the elements using his body and wings alone.

They slept for about an hour until they were suddenly awakened by loud human shouts. Re and Chris jumped to their feet. A mob of angry humans surrounded them with all sorts of weapons.

"How did they find us?" Chris asked.

"I don't know," Re said. He scooped Chris onto his saddle and took off as soon as he was settled. Chris held on tight as they flew fast through the storm. Re flew low to avoid getting struck by lighting, that was every where. The waves clawed at them. Re flew erratically to avoid the waves. Lighting flashed and thunder boomed.

Serenity sat up in bed, aroused by the storm. The lagoon was pounding on her window. She heard the wind outside, whistling through the spires. Suddenly Excalibur fell off the wall and smashed through the glass case. Serenity watched, as though in slow motion, as the sword fell onto the floor with a series of loud clanks. Serenity looked down at the sword, and a feeling of doom washed over her. She got out of bed, careful of the broken glass, and lifted the sword off the floor. She clutched it, the feeling of doom grew stronger. She looked out at the storm. The lagoon and ocean beyond was going insane. Water from the ocean was sloshing into the lagoon and smacking into the side of the castle. The mountain was well built to withstand this type of abuse, as were the windows. So Serenity was safe, but worried. She sat on her bed still holding the sword. At that moment there came a knock on the door.

"Hey Serenity are you awake?" called Aurora.

"Yes," Serenity called. Aurora opened the door and entered.

"I'm just checking to see if you're okay," she said. "This it turning in a hurricane."

"Yeah the sword fell," Serenity said. She held up Excalibur. Aurora went over and looked at the hooks that originally held the sword. One of the hooks was bent and the other was completely broken off.

"Hmm, I guess those hooks have had enough," the Queen said. Serenity put the sword on the table. Just then a huge wave slammed into the window. More thunder and lightening followed.

"Wow, this is getting intense," Serenity said. "Will that window hold?"

"Of course," Aurora said. "All the windows in this castle are storm proof." Serenity sat back on her bed.

"Can't you sleep either?" she asked the Queen.

"No, I'm worried about Re and Chris," said Aurora.

"So am I," said Serenity. "Maybe they got delayed by the storm. Maybe we should go out after them."

"Oh no," said Aurora. "The storm is too rough. All the dragons are grounded." Serenity sighed and laid down on her pillows.

"Where's Tenor?" she asked.

"He's gone further inland to hunt," Aurora said. Just then more waves crashed against the mountain. Serenity and Aurora fell silent as they watched the storm explode. Aurora tucked Serenity back into bed. Then the Queen laid down by the window, keeping a lookout for her mate and son.

The storm raged on for hours, clear into the next morning. It was clear into lunchtime before the storm began to go away. All the nation's dragons stayed in their caves and houses, which were all storm proof. When the sky cleared the dragons emerged. The sea became tame enough to go fishing. Inside the castle Serenity, Alto, Tenor, and Aurora gathered in Aurora and Re's chamber to wait for Re and Chris. They waited for a long time. From that height they could see miles out to sea. Dragons and riders flew in different directions, cleaning up any debris left by the storm. Serenity and the royal dragons waited for a long time.

An hour later they finally spotted the glint of gold armor flying rapidly towards them.

"That's Re," said Aurora. Serenity climbed onto her back and all three dragons took off. They met Re right over the Golden Gate. He looked really upset, and he had an empty saddle.

"Where's Chris?" Aurora asked. Re hung his head.

"He, he fell off my saddle," he said softly. "He's lost at sea. I need help finding him."

"We'll help you," Tenor said.

"Serenity stays here," Re said. "I don't want her to be lost too."

"But I want to help," Serenity said.

"I said no, and that's final," Re said. Aurora took Serenity back to the castle and dropped her off at the entrance hall. Then the Queen took off and rejoined the others. The dragons gathered as many dragons and riders they could find and headed back out to sea. Re led them to the island that he and Chris had started from. From there they spiderwebbed outward looking for any sign of Chris. Serenity sat in the Great Hall waiting for them to return with her friend. She sat on Aurora's throne, and just waited and prayed.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The dragons searched the ocean for weeks. There was no sign of Chris at all. After a while dragons started to come to the terrible conclusion that Chris was gone for good. Serenity stayed in her room the whole time. She could't believe the turn her life had taken. First Ruby died in a thorn bush, now Chris had been taken by the sea. At first she was positive that Chris would be found and brought home. But each day went by, and he still wasn't found. More and more dragons were coming back empty taloned. The royal dragons stayed out for as long as they could, so Serenity had the castle to herself.

Then about three weeks since the search began Tenor, Alto, and Aurora finally came back to the castle one night. Re was still out looking, determined to find his son. The three dragons looked at each other sadly. Chris was gone, forever.

"Re's still out there," Aurora said.

"He's not going to give up is he?" said Alto. Tenor and Aurora shook their heads. The three of them went into the castle.

"I'm really sorry my lady," Alto said to Aurora. The Queen hung her head.

"I will miss him dearly," she said. "But as a queen I must be strong and move on." At that moment Serenity came down the stairs. She was wearing her night gown and slippers.

"Serenity, you're still up?" Alto asked quietly. Serenity walked up to the dragons.

"You didn't find him did you?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not," Aurora said. Serenity fell to her knees in shock. She clutched the locket around her neck.

"Not Chris too," she sobbed to herself. "What am I going to do now? All my friends are gone." She curled up into a ball. The dragons all laid down around her and Aurora pulled her close.

"I'm sorry Serenity," the Queen said. Serenity hugged Aurora's neck and buried her face into the dragon's blue scales.

"Where's Re?" Serenity asked.

"He's still out there," said Aurora. "I'll give him until morning before I go get him." Serenity snuggled close to the Queen, fiddling with her locket.

"We were going to build a sand castle on Royal Town Beach," she said in between sobs. "And we had plans to help the dragons of the world." Aurora noticed her locket.

"Is that the locket he gave you?" she asked. Serenity nodded, too upset to speak. Aurora nuzzled her gently.

"May I see it?" she asked, hold out a paw. Serenity removed the locket from her neck and gave it to the Queen. Aurora carefully opened the locket and saw the picture of Ruby, and the empty slot. The Queen placed her other paw over the locket and put a small spell on it. When she removed her paw and admired her work.

"There, this will help a little," the Queen said as she handed the locket back. Serenity saw the open locket in Aurora's paw, which was still open. She looked surprised. In the other slot next to Ruby's picture, was a photograph of Chris at age twelve. Serenity gently it picked up. She looked at the pictures of her two friends.

"There's another inscription on the back," Aurora said. Serenity closed the locket and looked on the back of it. There was indeed another inscription on the back. Under the sentence; In loving memory of the dragon who changed my live, was the sentence; And here we'll stay until we meet again. Serenity smiled, touched by the sentence. She clutched the locket to her chest.

"Now you can carry both Ruby and Chris, wherever you go," Aurora said.

"Will we meet again?" Serenity asked.

"I'm positive you will," Aurora said. "We all will." Serenity hugged the queen tightly.

"I want to show this to Re," Serenity said. "Maybe it will help him."

"That's a great idea," said Aurora. She then turned to Alto and Tenor. "You two should go to bed, you've been awake for three weeks." Alto and Tenor exchanged a glance.

"Are you sure?" asked Alto.

"Yes, we'll be going to be ourselves," said Aurora. "We could all use a good night sleep." Serenity still clutched her locket as she and the dragons got to their feet. Serenity went up to her room. The castle never felt so big or so empty. Chris was her only human friend and the only one she had to hang out with. Now that he was gone she felt more alone than she did when Ruby died. She arrived at her room and entered. She was greeted at usual by the Round Table. She walked up to it and ran her hand over the smooth wood. There were a lot of memories on this table, all the way back to her first day in the castle when she ate soup with Chris and talked about the Knights of the Round Table, and the the dinosaur bones in the Castle museum. It seemed so long ago. Serenity sat in her chair at the table. She relieved every memory she had with Chris on the table. She put her locket on the table, open. She looked at her two friends and they smiled back up at her. She laid her head down on the table and absorbed all the happy memories.

Early the next morning Aurora got up after a restless night. Re still hadn't returned and she was really worried about him, and she missed her first and only son. She used her magic to open the window, and flew out. She glided over the lagoon and over the Golden Gates. She used a tracking spell to locate her mate.

And she found him sprawled on a sea stack, completely distraught. Aurora landed beside him and laid down. He opened his tired eyes.

"It wasn't your fault dear," the Queen said.

"Be that as it may," Re groaned. "But I'm a king, it's my job to take the blame." Aurora draped a wing around his shoulders and nuzzled his neck.

"He's gone," Re said. "And I am responsible."

"You should come home," Aurora said. "There's nothing left to do out here." Re heaved a sigh. He nodded in agreement. The two of them stood up. Aurora spread her wings and lifted off the sea stack. Re hesitated and looked towards the open ocean.

"Come on Re," Aurora said tenderly. "Everyone's waiting for you." Re spread his wings and followed his queen.

As they headed back home storm clouds brewed. Re grew uneasy as a sense of deja vu washed over him. Lightning began flashing all over the place. Rain fell, wind blew, and thunder boomed. The two dragons flew low to avoid getting struck. But they didn't fly low enough. They were just flying over the Golden Gates when a powerful bolt of lighting hit Re right between the wing joints. He tenses up and shook like he was having a seizure. Then the lighting vanished and Re fell towards the lagoon.

"Re no!" Aurora cried. She dived after him as he splashed into the water. He floated on the surface of the water, which turned red with blood. Aurora landed on the water like a swan right next to him. She used her magic to summon some help. Then she examined him. The part of his back between his wings was blown open, Aurora could see part of his back bone. There was also blood coming from one of his front paws, where the lighting exited. The worst part was, the King wasn't moving.

"Re?" Aurora cried desperately. "Can you hear me?" She lifted Re's head out of the water so he didn't drown. A look of pure agony was on his face. At that moment Vitamin and his crew arrived, including Serenity mounted on Aspirin.

"What happened your majesty?" asked Vitamin, shocked.

"He got struck by lightning," Aurora said. The Healers landed on the water, they had a stretcher with them. Serenity helped put the King onto it. Then they attached it to the Healers. Serenity got on Aurora and they quickly and carefully flew the King towards the Bluegreen Hospital.

When they got there Re was rushed towards the E.R. where the Healers went to work on him. Aurora stayed in a special waiting room for the royal dragons. Alto and Tenor joined her when they heard what happened. In the E.R. Serenity sewed up the huge wound on the King's back while the others checked for signs of life. Unfortunately there were none to be found. Vitamin looked at his friends with hopeless expressions. Serenity wasn't all the way finished with stitching him up.

"Serenity, stop," said Vitamin sadly. "The King his dead, I can't hear a heartbeat."

"He can't be dead," Serenity said. "Can't we jumpstart his heart?"

"No," said Vitamin. "Come, hear for yourself." He handed her the stethoscope. She took it and listened for his heartbeat. She couldn't hear it at all.

"No, not him too," she cried. "How many family members do I have to loose?"

"I don't know," said Vitamin. "Come on, we have to tell the Queen." But just as they left the E.R. Serenity caught a feint heartbeat.

"Wait, he's not dead," she called after them. But they didn't hear her. She turned her attention back to Re. She decided that since she had a chance to save her king she was going to, with or without help. She leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"You're not dead your majesty," she said. "I can save you." She went back to work sewing up the wound on his back.

When he was stitched up Serenity hooked him up to the heart monitor. She gave him the necessary fluids and put a pillow under his head. She put bandages on his injuries and made sure his heart kept beating. The Healer Dragons soon came back in with Aurora, Tenor, and Alto.

"What are you doing?" asked Vitamin.

"He's still alive," Serenity said. "Look at the heart monitor." Vitamin looked at the heart monitor and sure enough a heartbeat was registered. Vitamin looked surprised.

"How did you miss that?" asked Tenor.

"There was no heartbeat," said Vitamin. "But it seems there is know." Serenity pulled out the breathing apparatus and hooked Re up to it.

"It seems we taught you well," said Vitamin. Serenity smiled and blushed.

"I've lost too many friends," she said. "I won't loose this one." She petted Re's head.

"I'll tell you what," Vitamin said. "I'll leave Re in your care, and if he makes a full recovery I'll consider your final exam passed."

"Okay," Serenity said. She took her locket from around her neck and put it in Re's uninjured paw.

She worked day and night to make Re better. He was moved to a hospital room, freeing up the E.R. Serenity continued her work. The other Healers offered their help, but she turned them down. After a while Re started to recover, but he didn't wake up. When Serenity did everything she could she would sit by Re's bedside and remember the happier times with Chris.

Another three weeks went by with Re still unconscious. But know he was more sleeping, than near death. Serenity often spoke to him, telling him he was going to be okay. Aurora and the other royal dragons visited him and Serenity.

Then one night Re finally stirred and opened his blue eyes. Serenity was the only other one in the room. She looked up from her book, The Steadfast Tin Soldier. When she saw that he was awake she smiled.

"Hello your majesty," she whispered. "How are you feeling?" Re groaned and shifted onto his side.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You got hit by lightning sir," Serenity said. "But I helped you to get better." Re sighed.

"You shouldn't have bothered," he said glumly. "I wouldn't have minded death. Chris is gone." Just then he felt something in his paw. He looked and opened up his fist. He saw Serenity's locket in his paw. He used his talons to open the locket and saw the picture of Chris. He looked at it with a far away look on his face. Then he closed the locket and saw the two sentences on the back. He paid more attention to the second one.

"I hoped it would help you," Serenity said gently. "I know how hard it is to loose a family member sir. But just because they're gone doesn't mean you have to stop loving them. You helped me recover from my loss, now I want to help you recover from yours sir." Re sighed again.

"And if it helps, I miss Chris too," Serenity went on. She turned her attention to the wound on Re's back to check its progress. It didn't look as nasty as when Serenity stitched it up.

"Hey I think I can take these out," she said. "If that's okay with you my King." Re looked from the locket to her. He exhaled and puffs of smoke came out of his nostrils.

"Alright," he said. Serenity began taking out the stitches. There were quite a lot of stitches.

"You will have a scar sir," Serenity said. "But that's all." She finished taking the stitches out and cleaned the scar with special disinfectant. Re flinched when it stung.

"Is that better sir?" Serenity asked.

"It's a but sore," Re said. "But I can bare it." Serenity sat back on her chair. Re looked at the locket again. Then he handed it back to her.

"Thank you my dear," he said. Serenity took the locket back. She put it on and tucked it under her collar. Re gently nuzzled her face and she hugged his head.

"You're all I have left of Chris," Re said. "So promise me you won't go anywhere without a dragon."

"Yes your majesty," Serenity said. Just then there came a knock on the door.

"Come in," Re said. The door opened and Aurora came in. When she saw her mate sitting up and awake, she smiled.

"Re! You're alright," she cried softly. She approached the bed. She nuzzled Re and he nuzzled her.

"Though we lost you too," Aurora said.

"You would've if it wasn't for Serenity," Re said. Aurora turned to Serenity and smiled.

"Thank you," she said. Serenity smiled back and stroked the Queen's face. "You know what this means right?"

"We still have a King?" Serenity guessed.

"It means you're a Dragon Healer," Aurora said. Both dragons looked pleased with this.

"Hey it does," Serenity said. "But I'm happier that we still have a King." Aurora nodded in agreement. Serenity then yawned.

"How long have you been up?" Re asked.

"For as long as you were asleep," Serenity said. "Three weeks." Both dragons growled in disapproval.

"You should go to bed," Aurora said. Serenity nodded. Aurora helped her over to the bed that was for visitors. Serenity laid down and went right to sleep.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The next morning Aurora told Vitamin of the recovery of Re. Serenity stayed asleep as Vitamin gave the King a check up. Re was feeling much better, but still sore. Vitamin was pleased.

"Seems Serenity has done us proud," Vitamin said. "You have made a full recovery your majesty." The three of them turned to Serenity, sound asleep.

"Can we wake her up?" Vitamin asked. "I have somethings I want to give her."

"I suppose," Aurora said. She went over to the new Dragon Healer and gently nuzzled her. Serenity woke up and yawned.

"Hey, Vitamin says he has something for you," Aurora said. Serenity sat up and looked over at Vitamin.

"I'll go get it," he said. "You wait here." He left the room and Serenity got to her feet. Re also got out of bed. They waited for a few minuets then Vitamin came back. He carried a large, green duffle bag. On the side of it was the symbol of the Draconian Hospital, the two dragons entwined around the cup of life. Vitamin handed the bag to Serenity.

"Here, your graduation present," he said. Serenity took the bag. It was quite heavy. She put it on the bed and zipped it open. The bag was full of enough remedies and other medical supplies to last her a really long time. Among the supplies was a silver stethoscope.

"Wow, thanks," Serenity said.

"You are officially a Dragon Healer," Vitamin said. Serenity was overflowing with pride. She turned to the three dragons and hugged each one in turn. Aurora wrapped her wings around the girl.

"Ruby would be proud of you," she whispered. Serenity smiled at the thought. She went back over the to the bed and zipped up the medical bag.

"I want to go out into the world and help the dragons who live abroad," she said. "That's what Chris and I originally planned to do. There are lots of dragons out there who don't have a healer, I want to help them."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," said Aurora. "There are a lot of dragons out there who could use your help."

"Well, lets go home first," Re said. "And get you ready." Serenity nodded in agreement.

They went back to the castle after thanking Vitamin for coming to their distress call. Back at the castle they met up with the Dragon God Draco. He too had heard Serenity's plan to help the dragons out there in the world. He was in Serenity's room waiting for her. He was already saddled and wore his armor made of unearthly metal. On the table was a parcel.

"I made you something," Draco said. Serenity walked up to the Round Table and put her medical bag next to the parcel. She then opened the parcel and unfolded a blue and green uniform. There was a green long sleeved shirt, a blue leather jacket, blue leather trousers, and black, leather, fingerless gloves.

"There's more under the table," Draco said. Serenity looked under the table to find a pair of brown, leather boots with shiny green embroidery around the tops.

"Wow, this is great," Serenity said. She pulled the boots out and put them on the table next to the uniform.

"Try it on," Draco said. "Then come out to the front lawn."

"Thank you my lord," Serenity said with respect. Draco nodded and smiled. He left the room. Serenity changed into the uniform. It fit her perfectly. She slipped her hands into the gloves and her feet into the boots. Then she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so grown up in the uniform, and ready for adventure. She grabbed her bag, took one last look at her room, then left the room.

When she got outside on the lawn, all the royal dragons were waiting. They smiled when they saw her. Draco handed her the final part of the uniform, a dark leather cowboy hat. She took it and put it on her head

"I put a small spell on it so it won't fly off in the wind," Draco said.

"Look at you," Alto said with pride. "You're not the beat up little girl that came into the Great Hall, all those years ago."

"Chris said the same thing," Serenity said. "I'll go on this trip for him." She placed a hand on her locket.

"How long will you be gone?" Tenor asked.

"Until I run out of supplies," said Serenity. She put her medical bag onto Draco's saddle and secured it with two quick release straps.

"You ready?" Draco asked.

"Yes sir," Serenity said. She turned to the four dragons. "Thank you my friends, for your support in this journey of mine."

"It was our pleasure," Re said. "Will you come back?"

"Yes sir," said Serenity. "This is my home, and there's no place like it." She hugged her family good bye, then mounted Draco. The Dragon God spread his wings and took off. Serenity held on as they glided over the castle, over the lagoon, and over the Golden Gates. Serenity looked behind her at her home, just before it vanished over the horizon.

"We can return anytime you want," Draco said. Serenity smiled and faced forward. They flew off over the ocean, and to places unknown.


	18. Epilogue

Epilogue

"And I flew all over the world doing exactly what I said I would," Serenity said, finishing up her story. Her listeners took in every word. She leaned back in her chair.

"I traveled for ten years before I landed on this island," she said.

"How many dragons did you heal?" asked Astrid.

"Oh, I've lost count," Serenity said. "Millions I bet." The crowd fell silent, pondering the story they just heard.

"Wow, and I thought my story was harsh," said Windwalker.

"Well you were better off then me," Serenity said. "Your parents loved you and didn't hit you with a shovel." They all flinched, like they did every time that event was mentioned.

"You still have the scar?" asked Eret.

"Yup," said Serenity. "It's pretty hard to see though." They all looked at her face. She put her fingers under the almost invisible scar and they saw a very thin, diagonal, line across her cheek.

"What about the locket?" Chris asked. Serenity smiled and reached behind her neck. She fiddled with something, then pulled out the locket. She secured the clasp and held the locket up.

"I usually don't take it off, but I'm feeling generous," she said. The locket gleamed in the dying sunlight.

"Is that a real ruby?" asked Snotlout.

"Yes," said Re. "And it came from the castle vaults, along with that 24 karat gold chain."

"And don't you touch it," said Astrid sternly. "Or you'll have me to deal with." Serenity put the locket back on.

"Well thank you for telling us your story," Hiccup said.

"Sure," Serenity said. "This is the first time I've told the whole thing."

"It's getting late, we should be heading for home," Hiccup said. The Berkians got to their feet and stretched. They thanked the Draconians again and headed for their houses. When they were gone the Draconians talked among themselves.

"What places have you been?" asked Windwalker.

"I've been to this place called the African Savannah," Serenity said. "There's loads of different animals there; giraffes, elephants, zebras, wilderbeast and all sorts of reptiles, not just dragons."

"What other reptiles?" asked Black Widow.

"Snakes, lizards, and alligators," Serenity said. "I've also been to the top of the tallest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest."

"I want to see these places," said Avalon. The adults looked at each other.

"That would be fun, seeing the world," Re said. "I haven't seen much of it, I've had problems to solve."

"The world is always changing," Serenity said. "I've revisited some places and there's something different."

"I haven't seen much of the world either," Chris said. "I've only seen Eurasia, and not much of that either."

"Than what are we waiting for?" Serenity said.

She and Chris saddled their dragons, mounted them, and took off. They planned to go back to Berk after a while, then return home. For now they headed out to bring back more stories to tell.


End file.
